Nothing Special
by bluewolf84
Summary: She was way out of her element. This world was something she knew nothing about. Surrounded by all these people she couldn't understand what he saw in her. She was nothing special.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **So here is a new one. It is completely different from my first one. None of the same characters. So that means it's open season on Reid. Not quite sure where I'm going with this yet, so the main character could end up paired with anybody. Just have go with the flow on it. :) Anyway, read it over and let me know if you like it or not. Hopefully it won't be as long as the last one. Oh almost forgot, pics are up of Riley, Trevor, and Madison.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own The Covenant.

* * *

She sat the box next to the kitchen table. Plopping down onto the couch with a sigh, she looked around the room. A 42" flat screen sat on top of sleek black shelving unit. She was sitting on a plush black leather couch. A glass dining room table sat in the small dining area behind her. Even in the kitchen all the appliances were black. The look was very plain. She let her head flop back against the couch. There was a major lack of décor around the place. The only thing that really stood out was the simple black picture frame that sat on the table next to her. Reaching out she grabbed it and stared at the teenage boy with mop of brown hair and blue eyes. His arms firmly wrapped around a young blonde with similar blue eyes. They were both covered in dirt and had matching baseball caps on that said Broncos.

She remembered when it was taken. He had stepped into coach her team when their coach had gotten sick. The assistant coach didn't really know what he was doing. He was just a dad volunteering. So her brother stepped in for the next couple of games. Most of the girls on the team swooned at him. She guessed it wasn't entirely their fault. They were only thirteen after all and when Trevor Galloway showed up at the games all the girls and even some women stopped to stare. She didn't get it, but that was because he was her brother. He had inherited their father's good looks and he was not oblivious to it. He was definitely the talk of the town and county for that matter.

Their mother had passed away when she was five. When that happened their father threw himself into his work, more or less abandoning them at their grandpa's small ranch in southern Oklahoma. It was the two of them against the world. She grew up around boys and men. The only woman was Miss Clara who had taken on cooking duties. She had worked on the ranch since her early twenties. She had helped Grandma with the cooking while her husband helped Grandpa around the ranch. When Grandma had passed away Miss Clara had taken on full cooking responsibilities and when they moved to the ranch she taught her all she knew. She also didn't hesitate to smack Trevor upside the head with her wooden spoon when he did something stupid.

The sound of a key and the turning of the lock snapped her out of her daydream. The door opened to reveal the same head of brown hair that she had been staring at, the only difference was that it was cut shorter. "Honey I'm home!!" He smiled at her as she rolled her eyes. "What?" He sat his briefcase down next to the door and started to loosen his tie. She pursed her lips together trying to hold back her laughter, but when he looked her way she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"And just what the hell is so funny?"

"What…do you think?," she said as she continued to laugh. He just stared at her, his lips set in a thin line. "Oh come on. You in a business suit carrying a briefcase. I never thought I'd see the day."

"Very funny Riles."

"I think it is," she said as her laughter died down, but her smirk stayed firmly on her face.

"Well then you're going to get a kick out of tonight." A smirk made its way to his face as her smile disappeared.

"And why is that?" She did _not_ like the mischievous glint in his eye.

"We have to go to the house tonight for dinner." She scoffed.

"That place is not a house. It's a monstrosity." She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. She had hoped that she would have more time before being thrown to the wolves, but apparently their dad had other ideas. She groaned and closed her eyes. He smiled. He was a typical big brother. He loved to torment his little sister, but even he had to agree that he didn't want to go. He hadn't even told her the worst of it.

"So that's the good news."

"Do I even want to know the bad news?" She opened an eye and looked at him.

"Probably not." She quirked an eyebrow at him. His hand went up to rub the back of his neck. "It's semi-formal."

"Which means what exactly?" He quickly glanced around, making sure there were no objects she could hurl at him. Of course their dad would wait to tell him about this _little_ dinner just as he was leaving the office and leave him to deal with Riley.

"It…uh…" He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "It means you have to wear a skirt." He winced and hunched down, prepared for anything. After a few minutes when nothing flew at him he looked up to see her staring at him with wide eyes.

"Please tell me you're kidding?"

"I wish I was Riles."

"I'm guessing this isn't a simple 'family' dinner," she said making air quotes when she said the word family. As far as she was concerned, the only family she had was Trevor and everybody back at the ranch.

"No. Apparently since Aubrey is now seventeen she is supposed to be auctioned off to the highest bidder." Oh great a marriage market.

"I bet Tanya is just chomping at the bits to land a prize steer for her heifer." Trevor busted out laughing. Neither of them really cared for their step-mother and her demon spawn. She never really showed any care for them. The one time Riley came to visit her dad after he had married Tanya turned into a disaster. Aubrey caused all sorts of trouble and blamed it all on Riley. Tanya complained to her dad and as a result Riley was punished. She ended up cutting the trip short and never came back. It hurt her that her father was so quick to take the side of some little brat then his own daughter. He did try to convince her to come and visit a few times after that, but she could tell he was only doing it because he felt obligated as her father. He could really careless if she came to visit or not. He wouldn't even be around. Stuck at the office or traveling. After a while they only talked on the phone for a few minutes during Christmas and on her birthday.

Trevor didn't have it much better. The only reason their dad showed true interest in him was because he was his only son and was to take over the family business. Their dad had made a name for himself working as an accountant at a major company. She could never remember the name of the place and she really didn't care. Soon he stepped out on his own and now he was handling the accounts for a lot of major businesses. Their dad had tried to send Trevor to boarding school saying it would help him get into Harvard, their dad's alma mater, but Trevor refused. He wasn't going to leave her on her own. She needed him and the truth was he needed her as well. She kept him grounded and called him on his bullshit.

"Trev, I don't think I even have a skirt. The last time I wore one was in eighth grade for that stupid dance Mia dragged me to."

"Yeah, kind of figured that and so did Tanya. She went out and got you something. Dad says you can change at the house." This was just great. Her first night here and she already had to put on an act.

"How many people are going to be at this shindig?"

"Not a clue, but it's supposed to be some of the big family's around Ipswich." She sighed.

"How much time do I have before the torture begins?" He glanced down at his watch.

"It takes about an hour to get there and the dinner starts at seven sharp. We have enough time for each of us to get a shower and get dressed. I'm sure Tanya won't care too much what you look like as long as you do something with your hair and put on a little makeup."

"Of course she won't care. The only reason she would is if I outshined her precious jewel," she said sarcastically. Not much chance of that happening. Riley was a Plain Jane. She preferred jeans and t-shirts to dresses and jewelry. That was probably due to the fact that most of her life was spent around men and working on the ranch. You couldn't really have a fear of getting dirty.

He patted her knee and got up. "You should probably hop in first. I know how long it takes you to do your makeup." She wished he was joking but he wasn't. It really did seem to take her forever. The most she ever wore was powder. That was quick, but when it came to anything else that was where the problems arose. She could count the number of times she tried to poke her eye out as she tried to apply mascara. She quickly decided that it wasn't worth the trouble and went basic, much to her best friend Mia's dismay.

It was two hours and a lot of frustration later that they found themselves in the elevator heading out to Trevor's car. It stopped on the fifth floor and a beautiful brunette stepped on. She smiled widely at Trevor. Riley shifted her eyes between the two of them. "Hi, Trevor."

"Hi Madison," he said with a big goofy grin on his face. Oh Riley knew what that meant. She had her brother hook, line, and sinker. She turned her attention to Riley.

"Hi I'm Madison Parker." She stuck her hand out.

"Riley Galloway," she said shaking her hand.

"Oh yeah. Trevor hasn't stopped talking about you. He was very excited for you to move here."

"Yeah well, somebody has to keep him in line. Besides he can't cook at all." She patted his stomach. "Obviously been living off take out." He smacked her hand out of the way, glaring at her.

"I have not. I can cook." He turned back to Madison. "Really I can."

"I'm sure," she said with a small smirk on her face. She obviously liked the sibling banter and Riley decided she would have to take some more opportunities to embarrass her brother in front of Madison. The bell dinged and the doors opened to the lobby. "Well it's nice to meet you Riley. I'm sure I'll see you around. Bye Trevor."

"Bye," he said softly a smile playing on his face. As soon as she was out the door Riley turned to her brother.

"Oh Madison, I love you." She then proceeded to making kissing noises. Trevor shoved her out the door.

"Knock it off Riles," he scowled.

"Trevor and Madison sitting in a tree…," she started to sing as they got into the car.

"Real mature. How old are you again?" She stuck her tongue out at him and he shook his head smiling.

* * *

This was ridiculous. She looked at herself in the mirror. Tanya had at least picked out dress that fell just past her knees. It was a deep blue that had a square neckline with decent straps. She was really glad it wasn't a strapless. She stared across the room to the bed that her other instrument of torture sat on. A pair of black open-toe heels glared at her evenly. She could see the heel and knew she would break her neck by the end of the night. It wasn't like she really needed the heels. She was almost 5' 8". If she had to guess she'd say the heels were about four inches. She sighed and marched over. Taking a seat on the bed she slipped them on. She'd just have to make sure to stay close to Trevor. He would at least keep her from making a fool of herself.

When they had arrived at the house they were greeted by Tanya, a sneering Aubrey, and apparently a couple of Aubrey's little sidekicks. Tanya's blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves. She gave Riley the once over and stuck her nose up. She told them their father was in the office and ordered Trevor to show Riley to the room next to his. They had apparently been given their own rooms should they ever stay at the mansion. Trevor quickly took her up and abandoned her. He went next door to change.

She never really did feel comfortable in this place. It was so cold and sterile. There was nothing that made it feel welcoming. She looked at her watch and saw that it was almost six-thirty. She had heard the doorbell a couple of times and knew everyone was starting to show up. She really didn't like this. Why couldn't she just stay back at the apartment and unpack? She was at least grateful that she was not on display. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Trevor stepped in.

"You ready Riles?"

"How is it guys get off easy?," she asked motioning to his outfit. He wore a black suit jacket, black slacks, and light blue button up shirt. He shrugged his shoulders.

"We're not as vain." She scoffed.

"Yeah right." He smirked and checked out her attire.

"You look beautiful." She rolled her eyes.

"Stuff it."

"No, I'm serious. I think I might have to scare some of those boys down there if they look like they're getting any ideas." Then he looked at her feet. "Are you going to be able to walk in those?" He smirked at her.

"Probably not, that's why you get to be my crutch."

"Oh joy." She smiled as he rolled his eyes. "Come on we better get down there before Tanya goes crazy."

"I'm sure she wouldn't miss us."

"Well considering everybody knows that you're supposed to be here tonight, I'm sure she will."

"Why are they expecting me?"

"I have been talking about you and dad mentioned to some of his clients that you were moving here for school."

"Is he still upset that I decided to go to Boston University instead of Harvard?"

"He wasn't mad Riles." She gave him a look. "Okay so he was a little upset, but he'll get over it. I mean it's your life. Besides you got a scholarship there. He doesn't have to pay for anything."

"Like he cares about that." Trevor sighed. It really should've made their dad happy that Riley had gotten a full scholarship to Boston University, but the fact that it wasn't Harvard was all that mattered to him.

"Come on Riles. Time to face the firing squad." He extended his arm out and she linked hers through it. He held her up as she stumbled. "You know you much more graceful in cleats."

"Tell me about it." She let out a huff and pushed her hair back. She had let it down instead of throwing it up in its normal ponytail.

"You going to try out for the team?," he asked as they began to descend the stairs.

"Maybe. Have to start training again and see if the knee can handle it." In the middle of her junior year, Riley had gotten into a car accident. She was driving back from Mia's when a drunk driver hit her. She had been in the hospital for two weeks and in and out for the next couple of months for knee surgery and physical therapy. It had blown her chances at a softball scholarship. She was devastated, but luckily she had kept up with her grades and was in the top ten of her class. She had applied to Boston University to be closer to her brother once again. That and her grandpa thought it would be good for her to get out and see other places, as well as mend things with her dad. That of course was easier said than done. Trevor stopped, keeping them hidden on the stairs by the last bit of the wall.

"You ready?" He looked at her for confirmation. He knew that she was being thrown in with the sharks and it really was the last thing he wanted for his baby sister. She shouldn't have to deal with this world. She was too innocent. Too good. Too pure. They would smell the blood and eat her alive. He had to protect her from it as best he could. She nodded her head and they came around the corner. Everyone was in the lounge, but a few people near the door saw them on the stairs and sent curious glances at them while continuing to whisper amongst themselves.

"Here we go," he said as they walked into the room. Many people shot a glance their way, but didn't do much else. He leaned in close and whispered to her. "See, it's not so bad."

"Easy for you to say," she whispered back. They plastered smiles on their faces as they made their way through the crowd. Many of the men were greeting Trevor and started talking business, which left Riley standing there looking around nervously. There was no way she was leaving his side. Finally they made it over to their dad.

"Ah here they are. Gentlemen you know my son Trevor." Trevor said hello and shook their hands. "And this is my lovely daughter Riley. Sweetheart, this is Mr. Garwin and Mr. Simms, two of our biggest clients."

"It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen," she said and shook their hand.

"The pleasure is all ours. We were beginning to think you were a figment of Trevor's imagination," Mr. Garwin said. Mr. Simms nodded.

"Yes he hasn't stopped talking about you moving here. So how do you like Massachusetts?"

"Well I've only been here a day so I'll have to give you my assessment next time." They laughed.

"Ah Galloway, she is a charmer. I hear you are attending college."

"Yes sir."

"Our sons are going into their freshman year at Harvard. Are you going to your old man's alma mater?"

"No sir. I received a full academic scholarship to Boston University." She could see her dad's disdain from the corner of her eye and her face dropped. Mr. Simms seemed to be very observant.

"That is a very good school as well. I'm sure we'll see great things from you." She gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you sir." At that moment a glass was tapped silencing everyone. Riley turned her attention to see Tanya standing at the entryway. Aubrey stood next to her. She was the spitting image of her mother and Riley wondered who would actually want to clone Tanya.

"I would like to thank all of you for coming. If you would please make your way to the dining room, we will begin dinner." The crowd began to slowly make its way towards the dining room. Just like everything else in the place it was cold and showed no personality whatsoever. Trevor pulled out her chair for her and than took his seat next to her. Across from them sat a brunette that had to be about forty, but had a lot of plastic surgery in an attempt to look like she was in her mid-thirties. A couple of Trevor's colleagues sat around them as well. She spent most of the time talking to Trevor and fielding a few questions that came from the others in their vicinity. She turned her attention to the woman on her left when she saw him staring at her.

His blonde hair had that rolled out of bed disheveled look and his blue eyes were piercing. He smirked at her then turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. She cleared her throat and answered the question she had been asked. For the rest of the dinner she forced herself not to look at him again. Dinner ended and everyone moved back to the lounge once more. Trevor helped her up and began to lead her in that direction.

"Actually Trev, I think I'm going to step outside for a moment and get some air." He looked at her closely and nodded his head. He knew she was probably being overwhelmed by the fake smiles and forced conversation.

"Okay, take your time. I'll keep dad busy."

"Thanks." He kissed her forehead and walked out. She slowly made her way over to the doors that led out to a large patio. She leaned against the railing and sighed, looking up at the star filled sky.

"First rodeo?" She jumped at the sound of the voice and quickly turned around. That was a mistake as she lost her footing in her heels and pitched forward. Just as she was preparing to eat the cement, two strong arms wrapped around her stopping her from going any further. "You know most women let me say a bit more before they fall at my feet." He hauled he up and she _slowly _turned around, coming face to face with the blonde from dinner.

"Garwin," he said as he took her hand in his, lifting it up. "Reid Garwin." His lips gently brushed over her knuckles. He smirked a little as she felt her face heat up. _Oh this was not good._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So I started this chapter and decided it was complete and utter crap. I scrapped it and I am happier with this one. I hope you guys like it. Thanks to everyone who alerted and made this story a favorite after only one chapter. :) Thanks to winchesterxgirl, hockeygrl125, shawnajeanne, xxkpxx, Beccatdemon13, anonymous, PrettyatMidnight, and Black Thorns Entangled K for the encouraging reviews. Oh and Nic's picture is on my profile. On with the story.

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, pretty obvious what belongs to me and what doesn't.

* * *

"And you are?" His smirk never faltered as he stared her down. She couldn't find her voice. The being standing before her was breathtaking. He licked his lips as his eyes roamed over her. "Don't worry sweetheart. Most women are speechless in my presence." Yes, very good-looking. Now if only he would keep his mouth shut. She yanked her hand out of his and opened her mouth to snap back at him when an annoying voice cut her off.

"Reid!" Riley cringed. Reid stood up and looked behind her.

"Aubrey," he said coolly. His face had gone blank and Riley wondered if he detested her step-sister as much as she did. She came to stand next to Riley.

"I've been looking for you." She batted her eyelashes. Riley was becoming nauseous. She couldn't believe how desperate Aubrey was and she was only seventeen. He leaned back against the railing and shrugged, his eyes staying firmly on Riley.

"Came out for a smoke and to talk to…" He lifted his eyebrow in question. Riley couldn't take her eyes off of him, but she didn't miss the angered look Aubrey shot her. Apparently he hadn't either because his smirk reappeared and was a bit more cocky.

"Riley," Aubrey said as she quickly moved between her and Reid. She was faced with demon now. The look on her face was priceless. She kept her voice calm, but Riley knew she was seething. That definitely made this night better. "Isn't Trevor your escort tonight? I mean _you _have never been to a _high society_ dinner before." Then she lowered her voice, but Riley knew Reid had heard it as well. "We really don't need any embarrassments tonight." Riley clenched her jaw. She was about to give Aubrey a major embarrassment by beating the shit out of her. Lady-like qualities be damned.

"Trevor Galloway?," Reid asked. Her eyes must've been playing tricks on her because she could have sworn she saw disappointment flash across his face before he schooled it once more. Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she nodded.

"My brother," she said and cleared her throat. His face lit up as he put two and two together.

"So you're the elusive Galloway daughter."

"I'm not elusive. I just haven't had any reason to visit."

"Yes." Aubrey turned to face Reid. "She'd rather spend her time in Redneck U.S.A. running around with beasts instead of spending time in civilized society." Aubrey laughed, but the look on Reid's face clearly indicated he didn't find it funny. She stopped abruptly and plastered on her innocent look. "Riley dear don't you think you should be heading back inside. I'm sure Trevor is worried about you." Riley was about to reply when Reid pushed away from the railing.

"I'll escort you inside. You seem to have a bit of trouble walking." She glared at him and Aubrey's mouth hung open. Obviously this wasn't going the way she had hoped.

"I can walk just fine thank you." Riley turned to walk away, but Reid caught her arm and looped it through his.

"I'm sure you can, just not in those shoes." He smirked and started to walk towards the doors. Aubrey let out a frustrated growl and stomped ahead of them. Reid laughed. "That girl will never learn." Riley looked at him questioningly. "She's been after me since her freshman year. Too bad for her I prefer true blondes, not peroxide ones." He smirked at her and bit his lips. Riley easily picked up on his hint. Now that she thought of it, Aubrey had bleached her hair. It used to be a deep red like her father's and now it was almost a platinum blonde like her mother's. It really didn't suit her either. They made their way into the lounge. Riley looked around for Trevor, but couldn't see him. She let Reid lead her through the crowd.

"Garwin." She turned to her left to see Trevor making his way towards them. "May I ask what exactly you are doing with my little sister?"

"I was simply returning her safely to your side. She seems to have a bit of a problem of falling at my feet and I didn't want her to get hurt." Riley glared at Reid as he simply smirked. _That arrogant, little…._ Trevor laughed.

"Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble Garwin, but my sister has a slight problem when walking in anything over an inch." They both laughed. Riley balled up her fist and punched Trevor in the arm. "Hey!! That's not very lady-like Riles."

"Screw lady-like, I'm going to kick your ass if you don't stop making fun of me." Trevor scoffed.

"Riley, Riley, Riley. You've never been able to kick my ass and your never will. It's one of the perks of being the older brother." Reid chuckled as Riley scowled. Trevor just smiled. Oh it was on.

"Riley, may I speak with you for a moment?" Riley looked over at Trevor. He gave her a sympathetic smile as she felt the bite of acrylic nails in her arm. She turned to Tanya. "If you gentlemen will excuse us, I just need to have a word with my daughter."

"Step-daughter," Riley snapped. The grip tightened and she knew if she pressed anymore Tanya would draw blood. From the corner of her eye she saw Trevor take a gulp of his drink. Reid quickly released her arm. Both of them were far more afraid of Tanya than they were of Riley, that much was obvious. Tanya smiled and started pulling Riley towards the door.

"We'll be back in a moment," she said. They were out the door, but that wasn't enough for Tanya. Oh no, there were still ears present. She pulled her all the way into the kitchen. As soon as they entered most of the staff vacated the room. They didn't want to be in the vicinity of a Tanya Galloway meltdown. Tanya's fake smile came off and she turned her venomous glare to Riley.

Riley didn't quite understand what her dad saw in Tanya. She was a gold digger and obviously so was her daughter. Riley also didn't see how her dad could find Tanya remotely attractive. She tanned way too much and her skin took on the appearance of that lady from There's Something About Mary. She had also obviously had work done. Her skin was far too tight; Riley wondered how anybody could read any emotion from her face at all. To top it off, she had to have had implants as they were far too big for as skinny as she was.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" And here was the Wicked Witch of the East. Now where was that Dorothy? Riley cast her eyes upward to look for the house. Tanya didn't like that.

"I'm talking to you, you little bitch." The nails now bit into her chin as Tanya yanked her face back to her. "If you think that you are going to ruin this for my daughter you have another thing coming." Tanya let go of her and stepped back. She crossed her arms and popped her hip out to the side.

"Ruin what exactly? Your little meat market? Hate to tell you this, but, except for my brother, I could care less about any of those people out there." She looked Riley up and down, sneering at her.

"Oh sweetie you got that all wrong. Those people out there could care less about you. You are nothing to them, just some pathetic little girl with no sense of class from Podunk, Oklahoma. The only reason _any_ of them are showing any interest in you at all is because of your father. And the Garwin boy…" She shrugged her shoulder and snorted. "Well let's just say he has only one thing on his mind most of the time and I highly doubt he would stoop as low as a bottom feeder when there are far better caches out there."

"Like Aubrey," Riley sneered. Tanya shrugged and smiled.

"Well Aubrey does have class and she knows how to act like a lady. Maybe if you hadn't been raised by roughnecks you would be a little more lady-like. I bet your mother is rolling over in her grave…" Riley took a menacing step forward and Tanya backed up into the counter.

"_Don't you dare talk about my mother._ She had far more class than you and that spoiled little brat of yours. She was a real woman and my dad loved her more than he could ever possibly love you." Tanya schooled her face back to an angry scowl and moved to the side.

"Yes well she's dead and he's moved on to better things." She made her way towards the door. Just before she walked out she turned to give one last parting shot. "You know you really don't belong here Riley dear. You're just a simple little girl trying to play with the grown ups. If you're not careful, you'll end up hurt." With that she turned and walked out the door. Riley slumped against the counter. She knew she was out of her element. She didn't need Tanya to tell her that.

"Whew, that woman is in serious need of a surgeon to remove that stick up her ass." Riley was startled by the voice and when she jumped she lost her balance and fell on her butt.

"Ow," she mumbled. A hand reached out in front of her. She followed it up an arm, over a shoulder to a mane of dark brown hair. The hair framed a slightly tanned face with rich brown eyes. _Oh this is just fantastic._

"Sorry about that," he said with a charming smile. "I hope you won't report me. I could get in big trouble for injuring the guest." She sat there for a minute just staring at him before her brain finally kicked in. Shaking her head she smiled back at him.

"It's not your fault. It's these damn shoes." She pointed at them.

"Hmm, I think I read an article about killer high heels once before. Very dangerous creatures. May I?" He motioned to them and she nodded in surprise. He crouched down and lifted her foot up a little to examine it. He hmmed and got really close as if he was truly scrutinizing it. Riley giggled and then slapped her hand over her mouth. What the hell? She never giggled. He looked back up to her and smiled. "Yep, definitely killer heels. Fortunately for you there is a remedy." She quirked her eyebrow.

"Oh really?"

"Mmhmm." He slowly began to slip off her shoe. Sitting it off to the side, he moved to the next one. After removing both shoes, he stood up and extended his hand to her one more time. She accepted and he pulled her up. "See all cured."

"Well thank you Doctor…"

"Nicholai Mitchell." He extended his hand once more and she shook it.

"Well, thank you Doctor Mitchell."

"You're quite welcome Miss…"

"Riley."

"Does that come with a last name?" Riley really didn't want to give it to him. If she did he might run in the other direction. It wasn't a good idea to hit on the bosses daughter no matter where you were.

"Galloway," she replied softly.

"Ah, so you have to deal with that," he indicated over his shoulder," on a regular basis." She chuckled. At least somebody else could see how much of a terror Tanya was.

"Not really. I've been avoiding it since I was ten. Unfortunately now that I moved to Boston I have no choice." He nodded his head in understanding, then he snapped his fingers.

"You know what I've got the perfect thing." He guided her to a barstool and went to the other side of the counter. She watched as he grabbed a tumbler and began mixing an array of alcohol. He finished and set it in front of her. "My specialty. Guaranteed to make dealing with evil step-mothers and killer high heels bearable." She looked at it.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Now why would I do that?"

"To seduce me?"

"Are you seducible?" She shook her head. "I didn't think so. No worries, it's nothing strong. Just some Bacardi, orange juice, and tropical Gatorade."

"What's it called?"

"Tarzan." Riley looked at him. Oh he could definitely pull of a Tarzan. He smirked as if he read her thoughts and she blushed.

"I'm not twenty-one." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Doesn't really matter to anyone here. I'm pretty sure your step-sister had a drink in her hand."

"I'm not my step-sister."

"I know." She eyed him for a moment. _Ah, what the hell._ She picked up the glass and took a small sip. Her eyebrows shot up. It actually tasted really good. She couldn't even taste the alcohol. His smirk widened at her expression. He watched as she took another drink. "You know your step-mother was right?" He turned to the side and started to wipe off some of the glasses. She looked at him in surprise. First he was ridiculing Tanya and now he was siding with her.

"You don't belong in their world." She opened her mouth to snap back at him, but he quickly cut her off. "You're too good for them. They can only hope to be like you." She ducked her head to hide her smile as she blushed once more. This guy was definitely smooth.

"So Nicholai…"

"Please you can call me Nic."

"So Nic, so you work these events often?"

"Sometimes. Really I just help my uncle out when he's shorthanded. It's some money while I'm at school."

"Oh. Where do you go?"

"Harvard." Riley sighed.

"Does everybody go to Harvard?"

"I take it your not a big fan."

"No it's not that. My dad went to Harvard and my brother is in his final year."

"So I take it I'll see you around campus." The look she gave him was clearly saying no. "Or not." She shook her head.

"No, I got a full scholarship to Boston University."

"Why do you need a scholarship? I'm sure your dad would pay for you. He is after all Maxwell Galloway." She chuckled.

"No, he wouldn't. He thinks Harvard is the only school worth going to."

"So he's not too happy with your decision."

"Nope," she said popping the 'p.' She took another drink.

"That must suck." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm kind of used to him not being around anyway so what's the difference." Nic shook his head.

"So you don't have anybody in your family that shows you any care."

"That's not true. My brother Trevor and I are very close. He's the main reason I applied to Boston U. I wanted to be near him again. I also have my grandpa. He's raised me since I was five." He nodded his head.

"In Oklahoma right?" She looked at him and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I overheard your step-mother. It wasn't intentional," he quickly said. She smiled at his worried look. She figured she could cut him some slack. He was cute after all.

"Yeah, in Oklahoma." He smiled, relieved that she wasn't angry about his eavesdropping. He was about to say something else when the kitchen door opened.

"There you are." Trevor walked in followed by Reid and another guy. He had shoulder length dirty blonde hair and hazel-green eyes. She figured it must've been one of Trevor's friends.

"I was beginning to think the Queen Bitch had killed you and done away with your body."

"Sorry to disappoint brother dear, but I'm still alive and well."

"Damn I don't get my apartment back."

"Nope." She smiled at him. She noticed Reid glaring behind her. "This is Nic. He helped me after I busted my ass."

"Well it was my fault. I did startle you."

"I'm sure it was the heels more than you," Trevor said, eyeing his sister and Nic. He had a feeling something might have clicked between the two. He wondered how that would play out as Reid had shown interest in her. After Tanya had dragged her away, Reid was constantly asking questions about her. He didn't quite care for Reid's reputation and he made it clear to the younger man that if he was only looking to make Riley another notch on his bedpost, he would make his life a living hell for the short period of time he had left. It didn't matter to him who his sister decided to date as long as they treated her right.

"Who is this?," Riley asked motioning to the long haired guy. He smirked at her, clearly noting his friend staring down the guy now known as Nic.

"I'm Pogue Parry." He extended his hand and she shook it. He hand a strong grip.

"Nice to meet you. So you're one of Trevor's friends?"

"Not really. We only really meet at these types of dinners and other functions."

"He's my friend." Reid's gaze finally snapped to her and she was left speechless once again. "More like a brother actually. Our families are really close." A throat cleared and Riley turned back to Nic.

"Well, I better get back to work. It was nice to meet all of you, especially you Miss Galloway," he said with a slight nod.

"Please call me Riley."

"Riley," he said softly with a small smile playing on his lips.

"See you around Mic." Riley looked at Reid and noticed his ever increasing glare.

"It's Nic actually." Reid just shrugged and gave him a smug smirk. Riley rolled her eyes. While he was cute, she couldn't believe his attitude to somebody he just met.

"Goodbye Riley." Just then she got an idea.

"Wait." He stopped and turned to her. She grabbed a piece of paper and pen that was lying on the counter and scribbled something down. She hopped off the stool and walked over, placing it in his hand. He smiled as he looked at what was written.

"Maybe we can hangout sometime. You could show me some great places to go in Boston."

"I can definitely do that." His smile widened and his eyes had a little twinkle in them. Trevor looked at them and over to Reid, whose gloved hands were clenched into fists. He was trying very hard to control his emotions, but it was obvious to Trevor that he was fuming. He dropped his chin to his chest and sighed, shaking his head. His sister was obviously going to make life here a bit more interesting. Pogue stifled his laugh as he observed his friend's reaction.

"I'll call you later."

"Okay," she said softly. His smile never left his face as he turned around and headed out the door. She sighed in contentment and turned to face the others that she had almost forgotten where even in the room. She saw Pogue covering his mouth while looking at Reid, clearly trying to hide his smile. Reid's neck was strained as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. Trevor just looked at her.

"What?" He raised his eyebrow. "I'm not a little girl anymore Trev. I'm eighteen and I do date." Although the last date she had been on was with Kyle Thompson back in the summer before her accident. That had gone horrible. All he talked about was football. She barely got a word in. It was then she decided that the guys that she went to school with were better off as friends. He just shook his head and decided that it was her life, but he knew he would be there to help her clean up the mess if she needed him to.

"You ready to go? I have to go in early tomorrow for a meeting." She took one last look at Reid and decided to get the hell out of Dodge before the bullets started flying.

"Sure." She had to unpack tomorrow anyway. She bent down, grabbed her shoes, and made her way towards the door. She didn't care if Tanya flipped over her walking barefoot through the hallway. She was tired of the damn things and was ready to go home and crawl into bed. Trevor followed behind, leaving a chuckling Pogue to deal with Reid. If he knew Reid, which he only did a little, he would not give up on Riley, especially now. He had to assuage his bruised ego. Trevor shook his head as he climbed the stairs behind Riley. When Riley told him she was moving here, he thought everything would be like it was back at the ranch. He never had to worry about guys striving for her attention. It just made him realize how much his little sister had grown.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I'm bad I know. Just seem to be struggling with this story at the moment. Hopefully I'll get out of this funk soon. Anyway, I hope this chapter is up to standards for you guys. It's not much and I know it's short. It's more Riley and Trevor. Sorry.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own The Covenant.

* * *

It had been three days since the dinner party and Riley had yet to hear anything from Nic. It was around eight o'clock Saturday morning and Riley was snuggled under her covers. She was having a pleasant dream involving Garrett Hedlund and a private performance when something heavy landed on her and shattered it. Her eyes shot open to find Trevor in her face grinning madly. She moved her leg to kick him, but he quickly jumped off of her and landed in a crouch on the left side of the bed, which happened to be closer to the door. She glared daggers at him.

"_What the hell was that for?!"_ He just shrugged; his impish smile never faltering.

"I called your name, but you were to busy moaning." He waggled his eyebrows and laughed as the blush crept up her face.

"I didn't moan."

"Oh yes you did. It was something like 'Oh Garrett, you're so amazing and so hot. Let's runaway together and make lots of babies,'" he said in a high pitched, girly voice. She scowled at him as he doubled over in laughter. It was cut short as something firmly hit him on the head. He looked up to find Riley holding one of her pillows in a tight grip, determination clear in her face.

"Did you just…" He didn't get to finish his question as she swung the pillow again and smacked him hard in the face. He looked at her and glared. "Oh it's on." He dove at her and she quickly rolled off the bed, pillow still firmly in her hands. He grabbed her other pillow and moved towards her. He managed to maneuver her into the center of the room where they didn't have to worry about any stray boxes getting in the way or breaking anything.

"You really shouldn't start something you can't finish Riles."

"Well it's a good thing I intend to finish it then."

"Bring it on little sister. You don't stand a chance." They ran at each other at the exact same time; both pillows flying wildly around and hitting various parts of their target's body. They were at it for a good ten minutes before Riley managed to knock Trevor's weapon out of his hand. Seeing that he was losing he did the first thing he thought of. He charged at Riley as she raised her pillow to attack once more, knocking her to the ground. Her grip on the pillow loosened and then she lost it all together as Trevor began to tickle her. She laughed, screamed, and kicked as he continued his assault.

"Just admit you can't beat me and I'll stop," Trevor said smiling.

"N…ne…never." Trevor doubled his efforts. It wasn't until Riley felt that she was going to pee her pants that she gave in. "O...okay, okay. You win." Trevor stopped tickling her and leaned down.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you?"

"I said you win. No get off me. I have to use the bathroom." Trevor laughed as he stood up and pulled her up as well. Riley quickly made her way to the bathroom to relieve herself. As she stepped out she heard something fall, by the sound of the echo it had to be in the kitchen.

"Shit." She shook her head and smiled. When she got to the kitchen she laughed out loud. Trevor was on the floor cleaning up pancake batter. The bowl was perched next to the edge with little drips on its side pooling onto the counter. "Keep laughing and you're on your own for breakfast," Trevor said glaring.

"You wouldn't let your little sister starve." She gave him her puppy look.

"Watch me," he said sarcastically, turning back to the mess. A small smile played on the corner of his mouth. They both knew he didn't mean it. She grabbed some more paper towels and began to help him clean up. Afterwards Riley mixed some more batter and Trevor made the pancakes, eggs, and bacon while she set the table.

It surprised her how they seemed to fall back into the rhythm they had at the ranch. Mrs. Clara had made sure that both of them knew how to cook and on Saturday mornings they would rotate. One would cook the food while they other set the table. They had felt the need to give Mrs. Clara the weekend off when she finally felt comfortable enough to leave them alone in the kitchen. Their grandpa didn't mind one bit either. The man could burn toast so he truly needed someone to cook for him. They sat down and began to eat. Riley could feel Trevor's eyes on her and looked up at him questioningly.

"What?" He shook his head.

"Nothing." He cleared his throat and took a drink of his orange juice as she continued to stare at him. "So what did you think of last night?" She rolled her eyes.

"Do you really have to ask?" A smile came to his face.

"You're right."

"So why don't you cut the bullshit and ask me what you really want to know." She quirked her eyebrow at him and he dropped his head. He could stare down the most important men in the business world and barely break a sweat, but that look from his little sister and he crumbled. She knew the real him, not the mask that he slid into place to put on the show their dad expected. She had seen him when he lost his temper and destroyed his room in a fit of rage set off by their dad. She had tracked him down to their mother's grave and held him as he cried at the loss of their parents. She sat there with him as he waited for a phone call from Carrie Donahue. That was one of the worst moments of his life. He sat in fear of the news that he might be a father at the tender age of sixteen. Riley had been through everything with him and he with her. They were open books to each other and they couldn't hide anything, no matter how hard each tried.

"What do you think of Reid?" She looked at him and sighed. She figured it must've been hard on Trevor. He had graduated and moved to Boston when she was thirteen. He hadn't really been around to deal with boys and dating. Luckily for her grandpa, those were very rare occurrences. She shrugged her shoulders.

"He's alright, a bit arrogant. Is he like that all the time?"

"Yeah, but I think most of it's a front. Just…be careful. He has a reputation for…" Trevor struggled to come up with something that wouldn't paint Reid in a terrible light. He knew that he was a good guy; it was just that he still had a lot of growing up to do.

"Being a sex crazed maniac?" Trevor's eyes shot to Riley and his mouth hung open. "What? It's not like I need you to sugarcoat anything for me. It was pretty obvious from his flirting that he's bedded plenty of girls." Trevor shook his head.

"When did you become so good at reading people?"

"You know me. I've always been a people watcher."

"Very true."

"And thanks." He quirked his eyebrow. "For the warning, even though I already put it together that he's not exactly the relationship type. It's nice to know I haven't lost my big brother to all of this," she said waving her fork around the nice apartment.

"Hey," his tone was serious and she looked at him in slight shock. "You will _never_ lose me." She smiled softly and nodded her head. She knew it was stupid to ever think that Trevor would abandon her, but money did have a way of changing people and Trevor hung out with a different crowd of people then what he used to back at the ranch. It was nice to know that everything they had been taught there hadn't been thrown out the window when he moved here. They ate in silence a little bit longer.

"So, I'm meeting up with some friends at the park, play some football. You want to come?"

"I've watched you play football before. Why would I want to now?" Trevor sighed.

"I just thought we could hangout. It's the first day that I'm not bogged down by work. We can go out and eat afterwards, maybe catch a movie." He ducked his head a little. "Plus my friends are anxious to meet you. They won't stop bugging me. Please Riles?" He gave her the puppy look. She rolled her eyes. He knew he was nowhere near as good at it as she was, but he had moments when it worked. Just not on her, but there was a first time for everything.

"Fine." He smiled completely happy. He was getting his little sister back after being apart for too long.

"Great. You get dressed and I'll run the dishwasher." He took her plate and went to the kitchen while she headed to her room. She opened her top dresser drawer. She had managed to unpack half her stuff. Luckily that included her workout clothes. She wouldn't even know which box to start with if she hadn't. She pulled out her blue basketball shorts, a sports bra, and one of her old tournament t-shirts. She figured she might as well try getting a workout in while she was out there, especially if she wanted to try to make the softball team. She grabbed the knee brace that had been sitting in her duffle bag. She sat on her bed and just stared at it. Truthfully she was petrified. She hadn't done anything like her normal workouts. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to cut it anymore. A knock on her door startled her.

"Come in," she said, taking a seat on the bed and putting the brace on. Trevor pushed the door open and stepped in. He watched as she pulled the brace up over her scarred knee. He remembered when his grandfather had called and told him she was in the hospital. He was working late, helping their dad finish some things for a meeting the next morning that he would be in. As soon as he got the call he booked the first flight out. He didn't even bother going back to the apartment for clothes. He still had some stashed at the ranch. All that mattered was getting to his baby sister's side. Their dad yelled at him for being irresponsible. He had felt that the meeting took precedence over anything else. He had said that Riley was fine and wasn't going anywhere, that Trevor should have waited until after the meeting to leave. It was a good thing Trevor was far away because he knew he would've attacked him for that comment. He stayed by Riley's side the entire time she was unconscious. A shiver coursed through him as he remembered all the tubes and the beeps of the machines. He cleared his throat.

"You ready?" She tied her shoe and stood up.

"Yeah, let's go." They arrived at the park ten minutes later. Riley was impressed. The trees and grass were a beautiful green and well maintained. There were quite a few people out on this lovely morning. She saw joggers, cyclists, and dog walkers, along with stroller moms. Off to the side she could see some of Harvard. Trevor grabbed a football out of the back and led her towards a small group of guys.

"About time man," said one of the guys. He had short black hair and green eyes.

"Shut up Derek. Jim and Kyle aren't even here yet." Derek stared at Riley as he replied to Trevor.

"Jim isn't coming. Cassie is sick so he has to watch Cory. Kyle is recruiting some players at the dorms." Trevor nodded. "This your little sister?" He said motioning to Riley.

"Yeah. Riley I'd like you to meet Derek Carver. We were roommates our sophomore year."

"Man, I was expecting a kid from all the pictures you showed me. She's definitely grown up." Riley blushed.

"Hey," Trevor shouted. Derek held up his hands and smiled.

"I'm just saying man. Don't worry I won't touch."

"I'm sure if you did, Vicky would neuter you." Derek shook his head.

"Very true. It would be such an injustice to the world," he said sadly.

"More like a favor." Before Derek could comment a man with rust colored hair jogged up to them. He had blue eyes and a runner's body.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Mark," Trevor and Derek said at the same time.

"Mark, meet my little sister Riley." Mark stuck out his hand and Riley shook it.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"You too."

"You know Trevor hasn't stopped talking about you since you told him you were moving up here." Derek scoffed.

"He never stopped talking about her before. He just doubled it, especially when you told him you got that scholarship."

"So where's everybody?"

"Jim can't make it and Kyle is getting some new recruits."

"What about Tom?," Mark asked.

"I'm right here." Riley turned to put a face with the voice. However, that wasn't the face she saw.

"Guys, this is my cousin Nic. I knew we were going to be short a few players what with Jim out and Dominic moving to New York, so I asked him if he'd like to join." All the guys said hi and Riley just stared at Nic. He looked good in simple shorts and a t-shirt. It was definitely more attractive than his caterer's uniform. Nic nodded to them and smiled at Riley. She returned it and felt a little flutter in her stomach. She felt silly. She had never acted like some little school girl with a crush before.

"Hey Riley."

"Hey Nic."

"So this is Riley Galloway, huh?" She turned her attention to the man standing next to Nic. He had the same dark brown hair as him, but it was cut shorter and his eyes were blue. "I'm Tom." He stuck out his hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he said smiling. He glanced over at his cousin and smirked. "So," he turned his attention back to his friends. "Where's Kyle?" Mark glanced behind Derek.

"Here he comes. Looks like he got his recruits." Everybody turned their attention to the group of eight that was walking towards them.

"Looks like we have some more cheerleader's boys," Derek said in reference to the two girls that were in the group. They obviously didn't intend to play. The petite blonde was wearing a pair of jean capris and a pink t-shirt. Her hands were interlaced with a tall brunette. He was very handsome, but had a very serious expression on his face. It was almost like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. When he looked at the blonde girl, Riley noticed how it slipped away and he seemed more carefree like someone his age should be.

The stunning black girl was wearing a khaki skirt and green halter top. An arm was wrapped around her shoulder. Following the arm, Riley was shocked at the face she recognized. It was that guy from the party. _What was his name?_, she thought._ Prage? Pouge? Pogue!! That means if he was here it was more than likely that…_

Riley looked to the left of the tall dark haired blonde that she assumed had to be Kyle, due to the fact he was definitely older than the others, and found what she had been looking for. A bright blonde mop of hair walked on the right of him. Their eyes connected and he smirked. He elbowed the brunette next to him and motioned to her. The brunette looked up and Riley was taken aback by how blue his eyes were. They were brighter than Reid's. Of course it could be that his darker hair was setting them off.

"We also got some freshman. Should we give a good ol' Harvard welcome?," Trevor asked with a mischievous gleam in his eye. The others nodded and smiled. Riley shook her head. She never could understand the male mind. The group finally reached them and Kyle spoke.

"Guys this is Caleb, his girlfriend Sarah, Pogue, his girlfriend Kate, Reid, and Tyler." They all nodded at the other group. Kate and Sarah smiled at Riley. Pogue nodded his head and Reid smirked. When he glanced behind Riley, it quickly turned into a frown. _Oh boy_, Riley thought. She knew Reid had finally noticed Nic. _This should be interesting. _Kyle continued with introductions. "This is Mark, Derek, Trevor, and Tom." He looked at Riley. "And this must be the Riley that I've heard so much about."

"That she is," Trevor said throwing an arm around her. He quickly put her in a headlock and gave her a ruffled her hair. She hit him hard in the side, making him loosen his grip so she could slip out. The others just laughed. Riley glared at Trevor while she fixed her ponytail.

"And you are?," Kyle asked, indicating Nic.

"This is my cousin Nic. I thought we would need some more players and invited him."

"Hey the more the merrier. Although it looks like we need one more player." Kyle was right, they now had an odd number of players. Riley waited a minute before speaking up.

"I'll play." Everybody turned to her.

"Do you know how to play?" Reid asked smiling. It was as if he couldn't believe a girl knew how to play a physical sport like football and hold her own. Of course, in his little high society world he was probably right. She was really looking forward to shoving his words down his throat.

"She knows how to play," Trevor spoke up. He looked at her in concern. "Are you sure you can handle it?" He didn't say anything and made no motions, but Riley knew he was asking about her knee.

"Won't know unless I try." He slowly nodded his head.

"Okay," he said softly. He knew she wouldn't back down. She was stubborn as a mule, but he didn't have much room to talk. "Then we're playing touch."

"Aw, are you to delicate for anything rougher?," Reid asked. His friends rolled their eyes while Trevor, Derek, and Mark glared at him. Derek and Mark were the only two that knew about the accident and that was because they had been around at the time. Kyle and Tom hadn't become friends with Trevor until about a year later. Riley glared at Reid and his smirk widened. She ripped the ball from Derek's hands. She wasn't sure how it got there, but she didn't care.

"I can handle it just fine," she said marching past a stunned Caleb and Kyle. She stopped a few paces and turned. "So ladies, we going to play or what?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Okay so this one is a bit longer, but not much. There's the game and a some info on Trevor and Riley's parents. I've figured out how I want this to end so now I'm working on getting there. Hope you guys like it. R & R please.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own The Covenant.

* * *

A guy named Paul finally joined them. Riley had been so stunned by Nic and Reid being in the same area again and Reid's comments that she had failed to realize that there was one person missing; that was the reason they had an odd number at first. Paul was as tall as Trevor and had closely cropped brown hair. He was built and Derek informed her he was a personal trainer. The teams were made and everyone lined up. Trevor took his position behind Paul. Riley and Pogue were to his left side while Caleb and Nic were to his right. Positioned opposite of them were Tom, Tyler, Reid, Kyle, Mark, and Derek.

"Two, set, hike!" Paul hiked the ball to Trevor and the game was in motion. Riley took off as did Caleb and Nic. Pogue was locked up with Tom. Tyler was going for Riley, Derek was on Caleb, and Reid was after Nic. Trevor pulled back as Kyle came at him. Paul managed to block him in time, but Mark took this opportunity to go at him. Trevor threw the ball to Nic before Mark took him down. Nic easily caught it and took off. He was quite a bit ahead, but then Reid suddenly picked up speed out of nowhere and hit him hard. Riley could hear the hit and watched as the ball tumbled from Nic's hands. Tyler stood next to her shaking his head at Reid. Caleb was going to be pissed. Reid quickly got off of Nic and secured the ball.

The opposing team cheered, all except Tyler, and everyone moved into position again. Riley noticed Caleb and Pogue glaring at Reid. The ball was snapped and Mark pitched it to Derek, who managed to score. Reid looked at Riley with a smug smile and kissed the air. He then smirked at Nic and Riley watched as Nic's jaw tensed. Riley had a feeling that these two were going to try and kill each other before the game was over. The ball was snapped and Tom pitched the ball to Tyler. Riley took out after him and had him down before he made it halfway to the goal.

"Damn Baby Boy. You're letting a girl take you out."

"Shut up Reid," Tyler said glaring as the blonde smirked. On the next play Reid got the ball. Nic was on him in an instant and Reid was eating dirt. This went on for the next few plays, each one taking the other down as hard as they could. It wasn't long before Trevor's friends started to notice. After the latest tackle, both boys laid on the ground in obvious pain, even though they tried to hide it. Derek stood beside Trevor shaking his head and holding back his laughter.

"Dude, they're about to kill each other trying to impress her." Trevor wanted to say that they were being stupid, but he knew he had probably done the same thing to impress a beautiful girl. It was natural of any male. Even animals did it. Right now Reid and Nic were head butting each other like two bucks during mating season.

"Oh she's not impressed," he said smirking at his friend. They watched as Riley walked over to the boys and grabbed the ball.

"Grow up," she said and stomped off. Both boys looked at her shocked and then turned to glare at each other. Trevor couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. When Reid and Nic's gaze turned to him he shook his head.

"You boys are going about it all wrong." With that he and Derek walked off and lined up to continue the game. Tyler once again got the ball and Riley took him down. Riley's team now had possession of the ball. While her team was in a huddle, Reid walked over to Tyler.

"Trade with me Baby Boy." Tyler stared at his best friend. It wasn't a question it was a statement.

"If you're trying to cop a feel I'm sure Trevor will beat your ass after Riley's finished." Reid rolled his eyes.

"Shut up Baby Boy. We stop them and we win the game. You haven't been able to tackle her all day." Reid held up his hands to stop Tyler from protesting. "It's alright man. I know you don't like being physically forceful with girls, but they know that now and they're going to use it."

"And you have no problem taking her down?" Tyler crossed his arms and stared at Reid.

"I'm not going to be hard on her, but I am going to stop her from scoring, unless of course she wants to score with me." Reid waggled his eyebrows and Tyler rocked his eyes.

"Whatever man," he said as he moved into his new position and the other team lined up. Reid took his position in front of Riley. Needless to say she was shocked, but she quickly schooled her face when he smirked and winked at her. Riley threw a sideways glance at Trevor. He nodded letting her know he knew, but when he called out he didn't drop their code word, which meant she was still getting the ball. She got ready to run. She was going to show Reid that she was not some weak little girl. The ball was snapped and she took off, Reid on her heels. She managed to out maneuver him and turned to catch the ball. As soon as it landed in her arms she was hit.

Reid had tried to keep up with her, but she would twist and turn ending up just outside his grasp. Man, what he would give to see how she moved in bed. He saw her turn to catch the ball. He was so caught up in watching her that he tripped himself. He started falling forward and hit Riley, taking her down with him. He landed on top of her hard. He stilled as he heard her cry out in pain. Oh God, what had he done?

"Riley!!" She faintly heard Trevor shout as Reid quickly rolled off of her. Her whole knee was in pain. Through squinted eyes she could see Reid staring at her in complete shock. Another wave of pain had her closing her eyes and letting out a whimper. Suddenly she was surrounded by everyone. Trevor knelt next to her and brushed the hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take her down that hard. I…I tripped." Reid was lucky that his main focus was on Riley because he was ready to kill him. Right now he just needed him to shut up.

"_Will you shut the fuck up!!"_ He was tired of listening to him. He needed to get Riley to the hospital. He moved to scoop her up when Nic called out.

"Don't move her. You might cause more damage if she tore anything."

"I've got to get her to the hospital." Nic kneeled down on Riley's other side.

"I'm not a doctor yet, but I am studying for it. I know that you can't make it to your car with out causing her more pain and making the injury possibly worse." He turned to Tom. "Go get the car and bring it over. We can move her without aggravating it to much then." Tom nodded and took off to the parking lot. A small crowd had gathered around the group gawking, but Riley couldn't sense much past the pain.

"Riley, this might hurt, but I need to remove your brace to see how bad the swelling is." Nic turned to Trevor. "You might want to tighten your hold. Trevor nodded his head and maneuvered himself so that he sat with her between his legs. His arms came around just below her ribs, her back resting against his chest.

"You're going o be okay Riles. You're going to be okay." He kept murmuring the words over and over into her hair and kissing her head. He prayed that nothing had been seriously damaged. He didn't think she could handle that again. Not to mention that he would have to find a way to dispose of Garwin's body. His hold tightened as she bucked a little in his arms when Nic began to remove the brace. Thank God it was a Velcro one and not one she had to slide on.

"How long ago did she have surgery?" Nic asked looking at the scars on her knee.

"About a year and a half ago." With that Nic knew they had to get her to a hospital. The swelling wasn't too bad, but the brace had probably prevented some of it. She needed an MRI to assess the damage and make sure she didn't tear anything again. The sound of a horn and roar of an engine caused everybody to look up. Tom honked the horn to clear people out of the way. It came to a quick stop in front of the group.

"Let's go," Nic said. Tyler rushed over to the car and opened the backdoor while Nic gently took Riley's legs and Trevor held her upper body and moved her into the vehicle. She cried out in pain as they jostled her a little. Derek came over and held her while Trevor climbed in the backseat. They then slowly moved her in and Trevor braced her back against his chest once again. The door closed and the passenger door opened as Nic climbed in. Tom then hit the gas and floored it out of the park and to the nearest hospital.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trevor sat in the waiting room. They had gotten to the hospital about twenty minutes ago. As soon as they got there the doctors carted Riley off. The nurse had guided him to the nurse's station so he could fill out the insurance forms. It was a slight misguided attempt to distract him from his worry about his sister. Ten minutes after they got there Derek showed up. Derek knew his friend would be blaming himself.

"You know it's not your fault man." Trevor shook his head.

"I should have never let her play. She wasn't ready yet. If she tore her knee up again…." He shook his head and dropped it into his hands. Derek placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Tom and Nic were sitting across from them. Trevor had told them they could leave, but they refused. Someone cleared their throat and all four sets of eyes shifted to the door.

"Are you all here for Riley Galloway?," asked the doctor. All four shot up. The doctor's eyebrows rose to his hairline. He was around his mid-forties with salt and pepper hair. He had some stubble around his jaw and upper lip. He was short so the towering young men scared him just a little, but he knew how to school his features. He had been doing this for many years and had dealt with many aggressive patients as well as family and friends.

"Is my sister okay?," Trevor asked quickly stepping forward. The doctor could see the fear, pain, and guilt etched all over his face and the sadness reflected in his eye. He smiled softly.

"Your sister is resting. We sedated her and gave her some pain medicine. Unfortunately I won't be able to get her an MRI until around seven. The machine is booked and that's the earliest availability."

"Can you guess the severity of the injury?," Nic asked stepping forward. He felt horrible. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he should've switched positions with Riley when he saw Reid take Tyler's spot. He knew Reid hadn't meant to hit Riley that hard. Nic had watched as Reid tripped, sending his body full force into her.

"I'm not a liberty to say. Due to the fact that she has had knee surgery within the last two years and only got out of physical therapy a little while ago, I want to be sure before I give you a diagnosis." Trevor hung his head. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear that she was going to be fine and that there was no serious damage. Trevor swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Is she going to have to stay the night?"

"Yes. Once we get the MRI done we'll be able to make a better assessment of the injury. Even if it's nothing requiring surgery I would like to keep her for observation tonight. She will more than likely have to be on crutches for a while as well." Trevor nodded his head. He knew that would probably be a condition.

"Can I see her?" The doctor nodded.

"Right this way." Trevor followed him out the door, leaving the other three men to stare after them. They wandered down the hall until they came to an elevator. "She's on the third floor. She has a private room as per your request." The doors closed and the elevator started to rise. The ding let him know he was on the third floor and that much closer to his sister. They walked down the hall until they reached room 315. The doctor opened the door and Trevor walked in. He stopped and shuddered. The memories of the last time he saw her in a hospital bed assaulting his mind. He took a deep breath and looked back at the bed. It wasn't as bad this time. There weren't as many wires and machines. She had and an IV stand with two bags hooked up and the heart monitor.

"We'll remove the heart monitor once she wakes up. It's just precautionary when we sedate patients. Just to let us know if they have any sort of reaction to anything since they're not fully conscious." Trevor just nodded his head, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene. He never wanted to see her in another hospital bed. He moved over to her side.

"What's in the bags?"

"One is just a saline solution to keep her hydrated and the other is her pain medicine. We already gave her a dose. She has a little controller," the doctor lifted the small little controller, "so if she's in pain when she wakes up she just has to press this button and it will dispense the set amount of medicine." Trevor nodded his head and looked at her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful and helpless. His eyes traveled to her leg that was elevated and had a bandage wrapped around the knee area. "We placed some ice to help take down the swelling. It will help with the MRI."

"Thank you Doctor…?" Trevor realized he had never gotten the man's name.

"Buckner."

"Thank you Doctor Buckner. Do you know how long she'll be out?"

"It's hard to say. Each patient is different, but I'd have to guess she'll be out for the next hour, maybe two."

"Okay." He placed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back shortly," he whispered and turned towards the door, Dr. Buckner following behind. "Just so you know Doc I will be staying here with her tonight. She has a thing about hospitals ever since the accident."

"I had a feeling that would be the case. Normally we don't allow anyone past visiting hours, but I'll make an exception in this case." Trevor didn't care if he made and exception or not. He was going to stay with her and that was that. He got back down to the waiting room and gave the guys an update. He asked Derek to take him back to get his vehicle and told Tom and Nic they could take off. He thought about calling his father as Derek drove them back, but he knew it wouldn't matter. Chances are the hospital had already called him since he was the main contact on the insurance forms. If he hadn't shown up yet, he wouldn't show up at all. They made it to the park and Trevor headed back to the apartment to change. As the elevator doors started to close someone called out.

"Can you hold the elevator please?" His arm quickly shot out stopping the door. When it slid back open he was face to face with Madison. "Trevor!," she said happily. She was juggling some grocery bags. He quickly reached out and grabbed some of the bags. "Thank you so much."

"It's not a problem." She got into the elevator and pressed the button to her floor. They rode in silence for a bit.

"So how is Riley adjusting to Boston?" She turned to Trevor and saw the look on his face. "Trevor is everything okay?"

"Riley's….ah….she's in the hospital." Madison's eyes widened.

"Oh my God, what happened?"

"We were playing football and one of the guys took her down too hard. She had an ac…accident a couple of years back." He took a deep breath before he continued. "They have to do an MRI to make sure she didn't tear anything up again."

"Trevor I'm so sorry." Trevor just nodded.

"I came back to change. I'm heading over and staying the night. Ever since the accident she has a thing about hospitals."

"I can imagine so." The elevator dinged and the door opened. Trevor followed Madison to her apartment. She unlocked the door and they went inside. Her apartment was laid out just like his. The main difference was the decorations. Where all his things were very modern, hers had a homey quality. It reminded him of the ranch. He sat the bags down on the counter with her other ones. "Well I let you get going. I hope everything will be okay."

"Me too." He wanted to stay and talk to her. He had never gotten the courage to talk to her except when they were on the elevator. Now he was in her apartment, but he had to go. He had to get back to the hospital before Riley woke up and panicked. He quickly walked out the door and decided to take the stairs, knowing the elevator would take too long now. He was changed and out the door in record time. In twenty minutes he was back at the hospital and walking towards Riley's room. He stopped as he saw someone standing at her door. He registered the light blonde hair under the black beanie and knew instantly who it was.

"Garwin?" He tried to control his temper. Nic had vouched for Reid saying that he saw him trip. That he hadn't intentionally meant to take Riley down like that. "What are you doing here?," he asked as he came closer. He looked into the room and saw that she was still sleeping.

"I found out from Kyle which hospital you went to. I had to see how she was. Is she going to be okay?" Trevor watched as Reid swallowed hard.

"I don't know yet. They have to run an MRI later tonight. We'll know more than." Reid nodded his head. Trevor noticed something in his hands. "What's that?"

"Hmm?" Reid looked at him and then down to his hands. "Oh. I…uh…I stopped at the gift shop and got her this." He held it out to him and Trevor took it.

"How did you know she liked wolves?" Trevor looked at him curiously.

"I didn't. I just saw it and for some reason I thought it just fit her." Trevor nodded. It was a bit creepy that Reid had managed to pick out a stuffed animal that happened to be his sister's favorite, but he brushed it off as a coincidence. Reid took one last look at Riley. Before turning and walking away.

Trevor wasn't really sure what to make of this. The Reid Garwin he had always known was a cocky little bastard. He had heard from a few of the Spencer graduates about the rumors of him having a different girl in his bed every night. He had made sure to warn him against doing hat to Riley, but now he was wondering if all of that was truly just talk. This side of Reid Garwin was something new to Trevor. He looked to Riley and wondered which Reid was the real Reid and, most importantly, which one would make the moves on his sister.

"Hey." He turned his attention from the stuffed animal back to the figure in the bed. Riley looked at him with sleep filled eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew she would wake up, but the waiting had been killing him. It was bringing back to many memories that he preferred to keep buried.

"Hey Riles," he said as he walked in. He placed a kiss on her forehead. He could tell that the pain meds where still having their effect. Her eyes reflected her doped up state.

"Is that for me?," she asked pointing down at the wolf. Trevor nodded and handed it to her. "You remembered." She smiled sweetly up at him.

"Actually, I didn't get it for you." She looked at him with shocked eyes.

"Did dad…"

"No, I didn't even waste time calling him. I know you wish he would change Riles, but it has been far too long. He's too set in his ways."

"Why did he close his heart off when mom died?" He saw the tears gathering in her eyes. He sat down on the bed beside her. Gently taking her face in his hands, he wiped them away.

"I don't know Riles. I don't know."

"Then he had to go marry the Wicked Witch of the East and bring Satan's spawn into our family," she bit out. "Why has he acted more like a father to her than us?"

"I don't think he has." She looked up at him confused. "Scoot over." She moved to the side and he lay out next to her. It was like when they were younger. When their mom had gotten sick, Riley had a hard time sleeping at night. She kept having nightmares, so Trevor would let her sleep with him in his room and chase the nightmares away. It had been a long time since they had done this. "I think the only reason he has done anything for the Brat is because of Tanya. She probably manipulated him to."

"Yeah, like she manipulated him to forget about us." Trevor sighed. The thing Riley didn't know was that their father was still heartbroken over the loss of their mother. He had loved her dearly. Maxwell Galloway had met Clarissa Johns when they had been in Dallas. He had been there for a business meeting with his father and she had come down for her best friend's wedding. They had met at a bar and, the way their mother had told it, it was love at first sight. A year later they were married and three years later Trevor came on the scene, followed by Riley. They had been a happy loving family., picture perfect.

Then Clarissa had been diagnosed with cancer. She slowly withered away. Trevor remembered the many times they had gone to see her in the hospital. He figured Riley remembered them vaguely, but whatever she did remember had been buried deep to avoid the pain. As their mother got worse, their father became more and more distant to his children.

When she passed away, he sent them to live with their grandfather. His excuse was that it would be better for them, since he was starting to get a larger clientele and was a work more and more. Trevor remembered his mother refused to get a nanny for them. She sent them to a normal daycare. She didn't want them to grow up being high society snots. She wanted them to be generous, loving, and kind. Part of Trevor wanted to believe that their father had sent them to Oklahoma so that their mother's wishes would be carried out. Another part of him knew it was too hard for their father to look at his two children and not think of the love of his life. It was especially hard to not do that when he looked at Riley. She was the spiting image of their mother and had her spirit through and through.

About a month after the news that Riley was moving to Boston, Trevor had gone to talk to his father about one of the files he was working on. The door to the office had been left cracked open which was unusual for his father, but it was late and he probably didn't think anybody was around. He raised his hand to knock when he heard a light sob come from inside. He pushed the door open a little more and saw his father sitting at his desk. His back was to the door and Trevor could just make out a picture in his hand. It was the one fro Riley's third birthday. They had gone to the zoo and celebrated. It was the last family picture they had taken before his mother got sick. Trevor silently closed the door and walked away. Everything he had thought about his father had just changed.

"Trev?" Her voice broke him out of his memory. "You okay?"

"I'm fine Riles." She didn't believe him, but she knew not to push it. He would talk to her when he was ready.

"So how long am I stuck here for?" Trevor looked at his watch.

"Well your MRI is set for seven, but you know it could end up being later." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. Oh she knew when a doctor said a certain time it had to be taken with a grain of salt. "So if everything checks out, I'm sure you'll be out of here tomorrow."

"Good," she said and settled down. Trevor grabbed the remote on the side of the bed and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels until he came to Scooby Doo.

"Scooby Doo, seriously? Aren't we too old for this?"

"Shut up. You're never too old for Scooby Doo," he said smiling down at her. She tried to fight it, but couldn't. Her lips curved up giving him a smile of her own. They sat there and watched Scooby Doo for a bit. Then Riley remembered something.

"Hey Trev."

"Hmm?" He didn't take his attention away from the screen.

"If you and dad didn't get this for me, who did?" He looked down to her.

"Reid." She looked at him shocked.

"Reid? Reid Garwin?" The corner of his mouth quirked up. That was exactly what he thought. He nodded his head.

"Reid Garwin."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Alright so I didn't get many reviews last time so I'm guessing you guys didn't like that chapter too much. Hopefully you like this one. I know these aren't long chapters, but I'm making sure they end up to around six pages on word at least. They may get longer when I get a little bit more into the story. Also I made a banner for this story and Finding Out. They're my first attempt so they're not great. I posted the link for them on my profile. Check them out and let me know what you think. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review. I hate to beg, but your reviews actually encourage me to write more and put new chapters up. Not saying I'll leave the story hanging, but it makes me want to get chapters out faster to keep y'all happy. Thank you to winchesterxgirl, cmunoz.22, ILuvOdie, and Black Thorns Entangled K for your reviews. They really helped. On with the story.

**Disclaimer:** You know what I own and what I don't.

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"Careful. Watch your step." Riley rolled her eyes as she made her way into the apartment. "Let's get you over to the couch." Trevor slipped his arm around her waist.

"Trevor, I am quite capable of making it there on my own. If I wasn't suppose to be on my feet they wouldn't have let me leave," she stated angrily and moved out of his grip. There was a soft thud of the crutches hitting the beige carpet as she moved to the couch and dropped down. Trevor put her bag down and hurried over, grabbing a pillow to prop her feet up.

"Do you need anything? Something to drink? Something to eat?"

"Trevor," she said through gritted teeth, "back off." Sure she had needed his help after the accident had put her out of commission the first time, but this time it wasn't necessary. The doctor had come back last night after her MRI and told her she was very lucky that she hadn't torn anything again. She had only managed to strain her knee. She was stuck in a brace and on crutches for a while to keep her from further damage. That did not mean she was helpless. Trevor opened his mouth to say something else when a knock sounded at the door. He started walking over to the door and turned back to her.

"Don't move." When he turned back to the door she stuck her tongue out at him. Trevor opened the door and stood there in shock.

"Hey, I saw your car was back and I thought I'd come see how Riley was doing." Trevor just stood there his mouth slightly ajar. Madison smiled softly and crinkled her nose. "Can I come in?"

"She came to see me jackass, move out of the way." Trevor stepped back and glared at his sister as Madison entered the apartment laughing. She walked over to where Riley was stretched out and smiled.

"I brought these for you." She handed her a 'get well soon' card and a bag of candy.

"Oh I like you," Riley said as she ripped the bag open. She pulled out the mini Snickers bar and tore into it. Normally she would eat maybe one or two pieces of candy every once in a while, but the doctor had given her some more bad news. He had told her she was banned from playing any sports for at least two years. He said even though she had finished her physical therapy she had to gradually work her body back to its previous abilities and even then she might not be as good as she once was. So this was her pity party, lots and lots of chocolate. Now if she only had a cute guy here. Her phone rang and she quickly grabbed it. Her heart skipped a beat when she read the caller id. It was an unknown number and she had only given her number to one person since getting here. "Hello?"

"Hey Riley, its Nic." Her face lit up in a smile. Trevor looked at her curiously and indicated with his hands he wanted to know who it was.

"Hey Nic." Trevor rolled his eyes. He should've known it would've been that kid or Garwin. Madison hid her smile as she watched Trevor stalk into the kitchen. She decided to join him and give Riley some privacy. It was obvious she was interested in the guy. Besides it gave her the chance to talk with Trevor.

"So who is Nic?," she asked as she leaned against the counter. Trevor was getting a glass of water.

"Some guy she met at the last shindig my dad had."

"Shindig? Really?" She was trying to hold back her laughter. In all honesty she thought it was cute how he said it.

"What do you expect I'm from the South. We use terms that you Northerners find strange."

"I see." He gave her a smile which brightened when she returned it. Madison's ears perked up as she heard Riley laughing. She listened a little longer and Trevor looked at her curiously.

"Everything okay?"

"Hmm?" She shook her head. "Yeah everything's fine. Hey I got an idea. How about we go grab something to eat?"

"That sounds like a good idea. Let me go help Riley up and…."

"No, no. Just the two of us." Trevor stopped moving when she said that. It was something he had wanted ever since he laid eyes on Madison, but for once in his life he had been too much of a chicken to act on it.

"Just me and you?," he asked, his voice cracking a little. She nodded and gave him that heart stopping smile. "I…I…" Madison giggled a little at his stuttering. She was beginning to realize that he might be as interested in her as much as she was in him. "I really don't want to leave Riley alone here."

"I don't think she'll be alone." He cocked his head to the side in question. "I heard her agreeing to some lunch and a movie with Nic." About that time Riley called out to her brother.

"Hey Trev, Nic is coming over to hang out. He's bringing lunch and some movies. You guys want to join?" Trevor could tell by the look in her eyes that Riley was only asking out of courtesy. She didn't want her big brother around for what she considered a semi-date. He looked back to Madison and she gave him a wink. He felt his stomach drop at that. _Ah, what the hell_, he thought shifting his attention back to Riley. _She can handle herself and he seems like an okay guy. Plus it gets me a date with Madison._

"Nah, you go ahead. We were actually getting ready to go grab a bite ourselves." He watched as Riley's eyes lit up in happiness and she gave him a sly smile.

"Okay. You better behave," she said shaking her finger at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Mom."

"Oh and Madison if he gets out of line just smack him upside the head. That'll straighten him out." She gave her sweet, innocent smile while Trevor glared at her. Madison laughed.

"Thanks for the tip Riley. I'll keep that in mind." Trevor led her over to the door and after she was through he turned back to Riley and stuck out his tongue.

"Real mature Trev," she called out as the door closed. Once she heard the elevator ding, she got up and hobbled her way to the bathroom. No way was she going to let Nic see her like this. She had to take a shower. Thankfully she had lots of practice years ago and knew how to do this without any help. Fifteen minutes later she was slipping on her t-shirt when the doorbell rang. Grabbing her crutches she made her way to the door and looked out the peephole. She felt herself become giddy at the sight of the brown haired man. She took a calming breath and got her nerves under control before opening the door. When she opened it she noticed how great he looked in just jeans and a green t-shirt.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey." She stepped aside to let him in. He had two bags in his left hand and three movies in his right.

"Is your brother here?," he asked as he set the food on the counter and turned to look at her.

"No. He finally got up the courage to ask out this girl he's liked for a while. They went out to eat." Nic nodded his head as he looked around the apartment.

"Nice place." She shrugged her shoulders.

"It's Trevor's actually. He's just letting me stay here for as long as I want while I'm in school. I may eventually find my own place, but right now it works." He nodded his head once again and there was an awkward silence.

"I..."

"Wh…" They both laughed nervously as they realized they were talking at the same time.

"You go ahead," he said.

"No you go first."

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "I wanted to apologize for waiting so long to call you. Part of me believed that you had only given me your number to piss off the Garwin kid. The other part was scared shitless." She chuckled at his admission.

"Well, I did sort of do it to piss him off, but," she quickly continued as she saw the small downturn of his lips, "I really did want to hangout with you again. It just gave me more incentive to make the move." He gave her a bright smile at that and she felt her heart rate speed up. "So what did you bring?" She made her way to the counter to see what was in the bags.

"Ah," he said as he moved to pull the boxes out of the bags. "I hope you like Italian. There's this great little restaurant just down the street from my apartment. It's a hidden treasure."

"I love Italian."

"Good."

"So what did you get?"

"Well, since I didn't know if you were allergic to anything or what your tastes are I played it safe." He grabbed one box and opened it. "Spaghetti and meatballs and...." He opened the other box. "Lasagna."

"Mmm, both my favorites."

"Well I guess we'll be splitting them than." He smiled that charming smile and Riley felt her cheeks flush. She cleared her throat.

"I'll grab the plates." They quickly made their plates and sat down at the bar, eating in silence.

"So how's the knee?," Nic asked.

"It's okay. Doc said I didn't do any more damage, just strained it. I have to stay on crutches for a while."

"I'm sorry."

"Why? It's not your fault."

"It's not exactly Garwin's fault either."

"I know that. Trev told me you vouched for him. I have to say I'm kind of surprised. You two were beating the crap out of each other on that field." Nic blushed. He knew he had been out of line with the hits he and Reid had been trading. He honestly had never let anybody get to him like that before. The only reason he had retaliated was because Reid had been trying to humiliate him in front of Riley.

"I should have switched with you when we saw them change up." Riley shook her head.

"Trev saw it too and he didn't change the play. We have a code word that we use when he decides to switch something up at the last minute." She ate some spaghetti and Nic started to chuckle. "What?," she asked confused.

"You have a little sauce right," he reached across the table and brushed his thumb by the corner of her mouth, "here." He pulled his hand back slightly as they just stared at each other.

"Thanks," she said softly. He smiled at her and they both blushed.

"No problem." They finished their food in silence, casting sly looks at each other. Once they were done, Nic helped her wash the dishes. They popped some popcorn and Riley took a seat on the couch as Nic put the DVD in.

"So what movies did you bring?"

"Well, I figured you could use a laugh so I brought a couple of my favorite comedy ones." He took the seat next to her and hit the play button. The opening credits came on and Riley instantly knew which movie it was.

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights!" She smiled. "It's my favorite Mel Brooks movie."

"Then it's a good thing I put that one in first." He smiled at her and she felt the flutter feeling again. They settled in and watched the movie. They ended up having a mini Mel Brooks marathon. Nic had brought over Blazing Saddles and Dracula: Dead and Loving It as well. Riley fell asleep halfway through the third movie, Nic following shortly behind her, and that was about the time Trevor came home. He looked at their sleeping forms. She had her head lying on Nic's shoulder, her body curled toward his. Nic had his head rested on top of Riley's and his arm around her waist, holding her close. He smiled softly at the scene. He turned off the TV and heard one of them move. He looked back over to see Nic blinking sleepily.

"Hey man."

"Hey," Nic said as he yawned. He started to stretch, but realized he couldn't fully move. He looked down and saw Riley lying against him. His heart sped up a little. It felt good to have her in his arms like this. The clearing of a throat brought him out of his thoughts and he remembered that Trevor was there.

"Mel Brooks, smart move. Riles really likes his movies." He nodded, trying not to move too much. He didn't want to wake her just yet. Trevor just watched them and sighed. He wondered how this would play out. He knew Reid wouldn't give up so easily. He could also tell that Riley wasn't completely immune to his charms. She was going to have to make a decision somewhere along the line. He just hoped she would be able to make that decision before something bad happened that took it away from her completely. He wanted her to be happy here.

"Here." He moved over to them and gently scooped Riley up into his arms. Nic reluctantly let her go and followed him as he carried her to her room. "Can you pull the covers back for me?" Nic nodded his head and moved to pull back the navy blue comforter. Riley was already dressed in some basketball shorts and a loose t-shirt, so he didn't have to change her. Trevor laid her down and pulled the covers up to her chin. He brushed the hair out of her face and placed a kiss on her head. "Goodnight Riles."

Nic watched all this from the doorway and was amazed at how close they were. He wondered what had happened in their life to make their bond so strong. He was close to his sisters, but they had always fought like cats and dogs. They weren't as close as the Trevor and Riley seemed to be. Trevor moved towards the door and Nic backed up. As Trevor closed the door, Nic moved to gather his stuff from the living room. Trevor stood watching him pull the DVD player from the player.

"So what are your intentions with my sister?" Nic stopped and turned to look at the man. He swallowed. He had done this plenty of times to his sister's dates. Now he was on the opposite end. Taking a deep breath, he answered.

"I like your sister."

"Mmhmm, I see that. I just want to make sure you're not trying to take advantage of her. You see we grew up in a small town. Everybody knew everybody. She knows how those boys work. All this," he waved his hand towards the window, "is new to her. She has lived a very sheltered life and part of that is my fault. She's not stupid, but a few sweet words and gestures and she would probably fall hard. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Look man, I understand. I have a little sister myself. I really like your sister and I would like to see what happens. If it's just friends, that's fine. I can handle that. If it's more, that's even better. I don't intend to hurt her."

"But you might."

"I can't promise I won't. I'm sorry, but I'm only human. What I can promise is that I'll do whatever I can to make her happy." Trevor just stared at him. He knew there was always a chance that Riley would get hurt. Nobody was perfect and that tended to happen in any kind of relationships. Hell, their relationship with their father was evidence of that, but Riley had been through so much at such a young age. He didn't want to see her hurt anymore. The phone rang, breaking the silence of the room. Trevor walked over and checked the caller id. He let out a frustrated sigh when he saw who it was.

"Better late than never," he mumbled. He turned back to Nic as he picked up the phone. "You better head out." Nic nodded.

"Tell Riley I'll call her." Trevor nodded and waved his hand as he pressed the talk button, letting him know he heard him. As the door closed, Trevor spoke into the phone.

"Hi Dad." He had to admit he was a little surprised he had even called. He figured that he would wait until dinner tomorrow to ask about Riley. "Yes sir, she's fine. She's asleep right now." He listened to his father rumble on about how irresponsible it was of the both of them for letting her get in that situation. Her for playing and him for even letting her. Trevor took a seat on the couch and let his head flop back as his father switched over to business.

"I expect you to be ready for Monday Trevor. This is an important meeting."

"I am Dad. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Until I actually believe you. Now you two _are_ coming to dinner tomorrow. I don't care if you have to give her three of those pain pills. Tanya has invited some guests over."

"And let me guess, you want us to play happy family," Trevor said sarcastically. "You do realize that's impossible right. That witch and brat hate us."

"Watch yourself young man. That is my wife and your mother you are talking about."

"Step-mother and a crappy one at that. She gives the Evil Queen in Snow White a run for her money." Trevor knew it was sad that he knew who that was, but his excuse was a good one. Riley had watched that movie constantly with their mother in her last few months. When she had passed, it seemed to be the only thing Riley would watch for a while. He would hold her as she cried through it. Eventually, she put it away and never pulled it back out again. Trevor was never sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Enough Trevor!! Be here tomorrow at six o'clock and dress nicely."

"Is this another chance for Tanya to marry Aubrey off?"

"Trevor…" Trevor sat up. His father's voice sounded tired. It was almost like he had lost the will to fight anymore. He had only heard his father's voice like that once before. It was the month before their mother had died. Trevor swallowed the lump in his throat. Maybe he was being too hard on him. It couldn't be easy living with a screaming banshee, let alone two. "Just be there at six."

"We will."

"Thank you." There was a long pause and Trevor heard his father take a breath as if he was going to say something else, but changed is mind and hung up. Trevor sighed and threw the phone into the chair next to him. He lay down on the couch and ran his hands over his face. _Would it honestly kill him to show us some love? To show that he actually cares?_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I am _so_ sorry it's taken me so long. When I finally got inspired to write more for this story my computer decided to crap out on me. Luckily they were able to recover my hard drive and fix it. I didn't lose any of my work which was a relief. I will try to update faster next time, but I did just get a promotion and am now working 40 hours. So my writing is pretty much going to be limited to my days off. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter after my unplanned hiatus. Please review. If you haven't posted a story, you'd be amazed at how much it really does help a writer. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Blah, blah, blah. You guys know what I own and what I don't.

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Riley could care less about what Tanya's reaction to her clothes. Trevor had apparently had enough as well. Trevor wore jeans and a nice button-up shirt while Riley had on khaki Bermuda shorts and a dark green boat neck shirt that her best friend Cami had given her as a going away present. Cami said that she needed something more sophisticated to wear out and Riley's closet really did consist mostly of t-shirts. She had on a pair of flip flops and he had on his sneakers. If they had to suffer through this thing, they were at least going to be comfortable. The drive was the same as it had always been when they got into the car together. They fought over the music, but in the end Riley won when she played the injured card. It wasn't long before they were pulling up to their dad's mansion.

"You know that the injured little girl act is only going to hold up so long with me," Trevor said as he opened her door and handed her the crutches. Riley rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." They ambled along up the walkway and before they even reached the door, it opened to reveal their father. He looked at them and took in their appearance.

"Dad," Trevor said in acknowledgement.

"Trevor. Riley. You could've dressed up more. We do have an appearance to uphold." Riley felt all the anger she had towards her father start to rise to the surface. She worked on keeping it in check, but a little managed to slip out.

"We could've, but we didn't. So the bi..._Tanya_ will have to deal with it." The look Maxwell gave her caused her to stutter. He was an intimidating man.

"It's not just Tanya you are representing Riley," Maxwell replied in his cool, collected tone. "It is me and the Galloway name itself. There are certain standards…" That was the breaking point.

"Yeah well screw your _standards_." Maxwell glared at her. His jaw clenched and his face turned red. Trevor inched closer to Riley, prepared to place himself in front of her for protection. He had only seen his father lose his temper a hand full of times and they were never pretty.

"Now listen here young lady. I am you father…" Riley rolled her eyes.

"A little late for that role. I've spoken to you maybe twenty four hours in the last eight years. You didn't even come to see me when I almost _died_," she shouted, her voice echoing off the brick in the silence of the night. Trevor cringed while Maxwell looked away. She had him and she knew it. She wasn't going to spare his feelings or care if he was uncomfortable. It's not like he ever gave her the courtesy. "I learned a long time ago never to expect you to be there for me. So please enlighten me as to how _you_ could call yourself my _father_." Maxwell just stared coolly down at her. His face an emotionless mask.

"I am your father Riley Ann and you will respect me." With that he turned and went back inside.

"Fat chance," she said as Trevor led the way in. _Well this is going to be an interesting dinner_, Trevor thought. He knew he had to keep Riley and their father as far from each other as possible. They followed their dad through the entryway and into the dining area. She should've been surprised by the fact that there were more people than expected there, but she wasn't. What she was surprised about was who was there. She was ready to turn around and hobble her way back out to the car when Trevor came up behind her. Riley looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders. Reid stared at her as Aubrey smiled smugly from the chair at his side.

There was another person sitting across from Reid. The curly head of hair turned towards her and the boy's eyes lit up seeing her. She watched as he slowly looked her over and smirked. He then turned back to Reid. She wasn't sure what kind of look he gave him, but whatever it was it caused Reid to glare at him with severe hatred. When Riley looked back to the table she noticed that her dad, Mr. Garwin, and who she assumed was the creep's dad at one end. Next to them were their wives. Riley looked at Mrs. Garwin. She could see where Reid got his blonde hair and height from. Mr. Garwin was a couple inches taller than Reid and had dirty blond hair. Reid, however, got his blue eyes. Riley noticed that there were only two chairs left open; one next to the creep and the other down at the end by their dad. Three guesses as to who got that one. Trevor gave Riley an apologetic look and pulled out the chair for her. Once she was seated he made his way to the other end, leaving her to fend for herself.

_You can do this_, she said giving herself a mental pep talk.

"Oh Riley what happened to your leg?," Aubrey asked in mock concern. The glint in her eye told Riley that she really didn't care, not that she expected her to. She was just trying to impress the boys with her "concern."

"I had an accident. No big deal." She fiddled with the napkin in her lap as the food was brought out.

"Well you should be more careful. I mean you just got here. We wouldn't want you to _leave_ so soon."

"I'm sure you don't." Everybody started eating. Riley saw Reid glance at her a few times as Aubrey tried to engage him in a conversation. It wasn't as awkward as Creepy's blatant staring and smug expression.

"I'm Aaron Abbot," he stated as if she should swoon at finding out who he was.

"Riley Galloway."

"You have an interesting accent. Where are you from?" Riley turned to reply and out of the corner of her eye she saw Reid turn his full attention to them, causing Aubrey to huff and pout like a child.

"I'm from Oklahoma."

"Huh? Did you grow up in the city?" Aubrey started laughing.

"Oh you're so funny Aaron. Riley has no idea what city life is like. Poor girl grew up on a ranch."

"Really? What did you raise there?"

"Horses and cattle," she stated easily.

"So I take it you can handle a bucking bronco with ease huh?" His smile left no room for her to misinterpret his meaning. She may not have had much experience when it came to sex, but that didn't mean her friends and the guys she spent time around didn't put things out there. She noticed Reid tense and listened as Aubrey chuckled.

"Oh Aaron you naughty boy," Aubrey replied, giving him what she apparently thought was a seductive look. Aaron just smirked at her.

"Oh you have no idea Aubrey." He winked and her smile widened. Riley couldn't figure Aubrey out. It seemed as if she wanted to get her claws into Reid, but apparently any man with money would do. _Gold digging whore_, she thought. Aubrey and Aaron flirted some more and Riley took the loss of attention happily. She had a feeling Aaron would not have said something like that if Trevor was with them, but she had always been able to take care of her self just fine. His wasn't the first innuendo that had been thrown at her and she knew it wouldn't be the last. She found the best way to deal with them was to ignore them. They wanted a reaction and if they didn't get it they tended to leave her alone.

She muddled through the rest of the dinner in silence. However, she didn't miss the looks Reid threw her way. He obviously didn't trust Aaron and she couldn't blame him. She had always been good at reading people and the reading she was getting from him was that he was an asshole. Finally dinner was done and everyone made their way to the sitting room. As Riley got her crutches under her Mr. and Mrs. Garwin approached.

"Riley I would like you to meet my wife, Meredith." Riley took the dainty hand that as offered by the beautiful woman. Her hand was soft and warm, making it obvious that she had never worked a day in her life. Riley felt inadequate when she placed her rough, calloused hand in hers and gently shook it. It was like Mrs. Garwin was one of those China dolls that her grandpa had bought for her grandma every couple of years. The ones that Riley always admired on the shelf, but still seemed to freak her out due to their eyes. Mrs. Garwin, however, had kind eyes that seemed to smile warmly at her.

"Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Garwin."

"It is a pleasure my dear. I have heard a great deal about you. Trevor enjoys talking about you with anyone who asks. I have to say I am glad you have moved here. Even though he enjoyed talking about you, the poor boy looked sad. I could tell he missed you greatly. You two must be very close." Riley smiled at Mrs. Garwin. She had a feeling her mother and the kind woman would have been good friends if she was still alive. She saw her father began to approach them and made sure her next statement would be overheard.

"We are, but that tends to happen when you only have each other to lean on." She saw her father pause in his confident stride and frown. Riley felt a little bad, but quickly shook it off. _Serves him right._ Mr. Galloway closed the distance quickly before Riley could make any other comments.

"Shall we retire to the sitting room for some brandy Joseph?" Mr. Garwin nodded his head. As they all made their way to the sitting room Riley noticed Reid walking towards the front door.

"Reid darling?," Mrs. Garwin called out.

"Where are you going son?," Mr. Garwin asked.

"I told the guys I'd meet them up at Nicky's after dinner," he replied in a bored tone.

"Well why don't you take Riley and Aubrey with you?," Mrs. Garwin said. "I'm sure they would rather be around people their own age than sitting here listening to our boring conversations."

"I would love to go," Aubrey piped up and shot from the sitting room. Before Riley could even blink she was standing next to Reid. He looked at Aubrey and gave her what looked like a forced smile. He then looked to Riley.

"You want to come?" Riley could see the silent plea in his eyes. He did not want to endure any time alone with Aubrey. However, Riley was unsure if she truly wanted to sit around this Nicky's place by herself. She knew Aubrey probably had friends there that she would run off with and Reid already said he was meeting up with some. She opened her mouth to reply when a hand was laid gently on her shoulder.

"Go ahead Riles. I'll come get you after I'm done here." She turned to Trevor and could see the longing look in his eyes. He would rather go with them, but he had to stay behind to undoubtedly continue their business talk. He gave her shoulder and encouraging squeeze. He figured if she spent some time with Reid she would be able to figure him out. He knew Reid's reputation and he didn't want to see her get hurt, but the Reid he encountered in the hospital was different from the Reid he had heard about at Ipswich's social gatherings and from his friends.

"Sure," Riley said smiling at Reid. She saw his face relax and Aubrey's turn into a scowl as she stomped out the door.

"That little girl has a very unpleasant personality." Riley and Trevor turned to Mrs. Garwin, who smiled at them. "In other words, she's a real bitch, but you didn't hear that from me." She winked at them and left to join her husband who was waiting at the doorway for her. Riley turned back to see Reid waiting expectantly for her. She felt Trevor nudge her.

"Go. Have fun." He smiled at her and she thought about how, once again, she was lucky to him for a big brother. Riley made her way over to Reid. He held the door open for her and led her over to his car. Aubrey was already standing there, impatiently tapping her foot. She sneered at Riley and batted her eyes at Reid. He looked to her and rolled his eyes. He waited until they were at the car to unlock the doors and opened the passenger door.

"Here let me help you." He took one of Riley's crutches and gently guided her into the passenger seat. She heard Aubrey let out a muffled scream and Reid winked at her. He was purposely pissing Aubrey off. That definitely put him on her good list right now. Aubrey climbed into the backseat and slammed the door. Reid took Riley's other crutch and closed the door. Making his way to the driver's side, he tossed the crutches in the back, ignoring Aubrey's screech of protest as they hit her and climbed into the driver's seat. Turning the ignition, the car roared to life and Reid sped out of the driveway.

When Riley saw Nicky's it wasn't what she expected. It was worn and old, looking more like a biker bar. Definitely not a place she expected rich kids to hang out. Reid helped her out and she watched as Aubrey disappeared inside. Reid had completely ignored all her attempts at conversation, turning the radio up to drown out her whining voice. Riley was relieved. Reid walked beside her as they made their way up the stairs. Holding open the door for her once again, the smell of smoke and the loud music assaulted her senses. It wasn't as smoky as some of the other bars she had been to over the summer with her friends, but the faint cloud still hung in the air.

Reid guided her towards a table where four boys and two girls sat. She instantly recognized them from the football game. He pulled out a chair and gestured for her to take it. As she sat she began to wonder what happened to the cocky, self-assured boy from the football game. This Reid contradicted everything Trevor had told her. She began to think that perhaps this new Reid was all an act, but only time would tell. She knew they would have more encounters regardless to the fact that they were attending different colleges.

"Fellas. Ladies," he said as he bumped fists with Tyler and took the seat next to her. "You guys remember Riley Galloway." They all nodded and said hello. Riley replied in kind. "Don't know if you remember names, but this is Caleb and Sarah. You might remember Pogue from the party. This is Kate and this is Baby Boy," he said clapping Tyler on the shoulder.

"You can call me Tyler." Riley smiled and nodded in response. Quickly the others continued with their conversation and Riley did what she did best. She sat back and observed. She always enjoyed people watching. You could learn a lot about a person by just watching them. Most people focused on what was said, but there was more to it than that. There was body language and mannerisms that all relayed emotions far more powerfully than words in her opinion.

"What are you doing?" She shivered as the husky voice whispered in her ear. She turned to meet Reid's blue eyes. He had obviously seen her reaction as he was smirking. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing."

"You're awfully quiet. Are you not having fun?," he asked looking down as he fiddled with a napkin laying in front of him, refusing to make eye contact.

"I'm just getting a feel for the place," she stated simply. "Besides I like to people watch. He quirked his eyebrow at her.

"Oh really?" She nodded her head in response. "Well I like to do the same thing." He glanced around and then snapped his head back towards her. "Come on. I got the best place to observe from." He stood up and held out his hand to her. She took it and adjusted the crutches under her arms.

"Where are you two going?," Caleb asked.

"Pool tables. You coming Baby Boy?"

"Yeah sure," he said standing up. The three of them made their way across the bar and Riley saw Reid quickly rush ahead to snatch an open pool table. He grabbed two pool sticks and pulled up a stool and patted it.

"Best seat in the house." Riley took it and watched as Reid and Tyler started shooting. It wasn't long before some boys, who were obviously still in high school, came over and challenged them to a game, laying down a large sum of money as incentive. A few minutes into the game and it was obvious that Reid and Tyler were going to win. She had to admit they were good. Bored with watching them, she turned her attention back to the rest of the bar.

"See anything interesting?" She managed to reign in her urge to jump as Reid snuck up on her again. He leaned back against the wall behind them, rolling the pool stick between his hands. She looked over and noticed Tyler taking the money from the disappointed boys and shaking their hands in sportsman like conduct.

"Not really, but that girl in the purple shirt has been eyeing Tyler all night." Reid followed her line of sight and instantly spotted the girl. He smiled.

"That's Jennie Compton. She's a year younger than us. Her parents have money, but she likes to work at the coffee shop in town. Something about earning her own way." He shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing wrong with that. In my opinion that makes her smart." She didn't miss the weird look Reid gave her. She smiled. "I think it's better to work for things than just have them handed to you. It shows what you're made of, helps you find out what kind of person you are." Reid stared at her taking in what she said. She knew he must've thought she was crazy, but he didn't really. In fact he felt kind of ashamed. He had been given everything he had ever wanted his entire life. His parents never made him work for it. His future was lined up for him. He was being groomed to take over his dad's business just like the rest of his brothers, just like Trevor.

He wondered what Riley would do. She obviously had no plans to pursue the family business. He found himself somewhat envious of her. She could do what ever she wanted to do. Every possibility was open to her while he was somewhat cornered. He had grown up with many privileges, but didn't have the privilege to choose his own career.

"Hey Baby Boy."

"What?" Tyler hadn't even bothered to raise his head as he racked the balls so he could continue to play.

"You have an audience." Tyler looked at his best friend and then turned his head in the direction that Reid nodded his head in. They all watched as Jennie blushed and quickly diverted her gaze. Reid left Riley's side and slapped Tyler on the shoulder. "Go get her buddy." He pushed Tyler in the direction of the girl. Reid got into position and hit the cue ball, breaking the tightly packed triangle of balls. He moved over to Riley's side and took a quick glance at his friend and smiled in approval. He turned his attention back to the table, planning his next shot.

"So who else are you watching?" Riley looked around for someone interesting.

"That guy over there is trying to get up the courage to talk to the brunette next to the jukebox." Reid looked up and noticed she was right. He watched as the guy slammed back two shots in a row. He wondered how much false courage it would take the guy and if he would be able to hold it all or if he would end up spilling his guts all over the girl.

"That guy in the preppy shirt chatting up the red head can't seem to get the hint that she's not interested." He turned to the new scene.

"How do you know that? She's talking to him."

"Notice how her body is angled away from him." Reid nodded. "She's only talking to him out of politeness, but she's absolutely not interested. Plus her eyes keeping sneaking sideways. She's looking for a way out." Reid looked shocked. He had never really looked at the way a girl showed that she wasn't interested. Of course that may have been because he had never experienced a girl that wasn't interested in him. They all threw themselves at him and the body language then was always very clear. They spent the next twenty minutes decoding people as Reid continued to shoot. After a bit he turned to Riley.

"You play?" He nodded his head indicating the pool table.

"No. Don't know how."

"Well you came to the master. Come on." Reid helped her over to the table. "Put your hands like this." He took her hands in his and positioned them on the stick. "Now the easiest shot is going to be the solid five there." Riley felt his heat on her back as he pressed into her. She knew he was only helping her set up, but she couldn't stop the goosebumps that covered her arms and the fluttering feeling she got in her stomach. "Ready?" She nodded, afraid of speaking knowing her voice would sound abnormal. Reid's hands rested lightly on her arms as she pulled back and made the shot. She watched as the cue ball rolled to the five and knocked it, sending it careening around the table and eventually into the right corner pocket. Riley smiled and turned to Reid, who smiled back.

"You're a natural."

"I have a good teacher." She noticed his hands were still on her arms and he was gently rubbing circles with his thumbs along her skin.

"Ready for another one?" Riley nodded and they moved around the table for the next shot. It was ten minutes later when Trevor showed up.

"Having fun Riles?," he asked as he observed his sister playing pool. Reid was pointing out the shots she should take and helping her line up. She sunk the six ball and turned to smile at her brother.

"Yep." He noticed her crutches were leaning against the wall and Reid was acting as a human crutch, helping her move around the table. When she finally sunk the eight ball, she turned to Trevor with a large grin spread across her face. He knew then that she had truly enjoyed her time and he was glad. He didn't want her to barricade herself in the apartment.

"Hey Garwin. How about a game?" All three turned to see Aaron walk up to the table, followed by two other guys. He smirked at Riley and winked. She scrunched up her face in disgust, but Aaron's attention had turned back to Reid.

"Not interested Abbott."

"Two hundred bucks interest you?," he asked flashing the wad of cash. Riley could see the debate going on in Reid's eyes. Finally he nodded.

"Rack 'em." Riley decided now was the time to leave. She had seen the looks Reid and Aaron had exchanged during dinner. She knew when that it wasn't smart to be around two angry bulls when they were getting ready to fight. She turned to Trevor.

"I'm ready to head home." Trevor nodded and walked over to get her crutches. He had the same idea. He had seen first hand how those two were when they played pool. Riley looked back to Reid and saw his disappointed face. She smiled at him. "Thanks for getting me out of that house Reid. And for teaching me how to play pool." He gave her a small smile.

"You're welcome Ry." She looked at him and he just smirked at his new nickname for her. She could just knew if she protested he would go out of his way to say it more than he normally would if she didn't say anything. Trevor handed her the crutches and helped her get situated before they started walking away. They were halfway to the door when the heard a shout.

"RY!" She turned back to see Reid jogging up to her. She looked past him and saw Aaron drumming his fingers against the table, obviously ready to play. Tyler had had returned to the table, with Jennie in tow. They were apparently playing in pairs. "Let me see your phone."

"Why?" He just held out his hand. She sighed, pulled it out of her pocket, and handed it over. He flipped it open and quickly began punching numbers. He pulled out his phone and she heard the ringtone start playing. He smiled and pressed a few more buttons on her phone before handing it back to her. When she looked at the screen she noticed REID now listed in her contacts. She looked up at him and he smiled.

"I'll call you later." With that he turned and headed back towards the table. She saw Aaron throw his hands up in the air and knew he said something. Reid took the stick from Tyler and got ready to take his shot. Before he did, he looked up and winked at her. Turning his attention back to the table, he took the shot and Riley watched as it went into the pocket and he turned to smirk cockily at Aaron. The tap on her shoulder pulled her out of her trance and she turned back to the door and followed Trevor out. On the ride back to Boston, Riley couldn't help but think about the two guys she had met in her short time here and how they were more than likely going to make many appearances in her dreams from now on.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long guys. Inspiration is kind of hard to come by right now. I hope this chapter holds up to the standard. I'm doubting the party scene and might go back and rewrite it. I'm not sure yet. It will depend on how it is received. I hate to beg, but I really need to know what you guys think. I'm close to putting this one on hiatus cause nothing seems to flow. So _please _review. Thanks to winchesterxgirl, cmunoz.22, ILuvOdie, mbmjr07, and gxaxbxbxy for their reviews last chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own The Covenant.

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The first month of school seemed to fly by for Riley. After spending time with Reid at Nicky's she was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. Between him and Nic, her phone was pretty busy. Reid texted her a lot and Nic always seemed to call. She wished Reid would call too. She didn't mind the texts, some were pretty funny, but it was always nicer to hear a person's voice. Besides it meant that he actually wanted to talk to her. You could put off texts until later, but you had to listen when you were talking to someone.

However, when school started she didn't hear much from either of them for a while. It was understandable though. Harvard started at the same time so she was sure they were just as swamped as she was. She pushed her way through the crowd, finally making it to the sidewalk. She was glad she was able to go without her crutches. Trevor had been against it, but the doctor said if she took it easy she could do it. The quad was packed with everybody switching classes, meeting up with friends, or leaving for the day. For Riley it was the latter. She began walking faster as she saw the bus pull up to the stop. Unfortunately her truck hadn't handled the drive from Oklahoma very well. On the first day of class she was on her way home when it died. She called a tow truck and then called Trevor.

The mechanic wasn't too optimistic about it. He said it would honestly be cheaper to get a new car. Trevor had offered to help her or even talk to their dad for her, but she refused. She had sworn to herself that she would buy her next car all on her own. She had enough in her savings to cover a down payment, but she really needed a job to cover the monthly payments. She knew she was being stubborn, but she didn't want to rely on her dad. That had never gotten her anywhere. She wanted to prove that she could do this on her own. Besides she knew if she went to him for help he would just hold it over her head for the rest of her life.

She waited in line to get on the bus when she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She quickly grabbed it, expecting it to be Trevor offering her a ride home because he got out early. Without checking the caller id she flipped it open. "Hello."

"Hey Riley." A smile spread across her face at the sound of the unexpected voice.

"Hey Nic."

"Sorry I haven't called in a while. How have you been?" She rolled her eyes at his apology.

"I understand. I've been pretty busy myself. I already have some papers I have to write."

"Ah, got to love the first month of school. So what are you doing right now?"

"Waiting to get on the bus," she said as the line slowly moved. Looking through the windows she quickly realized that she wasn't going to make this bus and decided to go sit on the bench.

"Why are you taking the bus?"

"My truck broke down."

"Well that sucks." There was silence for a moment. Just as riley was opening her mouth to say something Nic spoke up. "Tell you what, how about I come by and treat you to some lunch. How does that sound?"

"That sounds pretty good."

"Great. Are you still on campus?"

"Yeah, I'm in front of the Quad?"

"Alright, I'll be there shortly." With that they hung up. Riley got up and moved away from the bus stop so Nic could easily pull up and she could get in. From her new position she watched as the quad slowly filtered out as everybody headed to their one o'clock classes. There were still quite a few people hanging around, but at least she could see the stairs to the library now. She turned her head as she heard an engine rev up and saw a sleek blue motorcycle pulled up next to her. She watched as the rider killed the motor and pulled off his helmet.

"You have got to be kidding me." The dark hair fell messily around his face and the smile he shot her made her stomach flutter. There was no doubt in Riley's mind that Nic looked _really _good on a bike. She just stared at him like a fool as he climbed off the bike.

"You ready?," he asked as he opened a compartment and pulled out another helmet. It was one of those half helmets. He handed her the full helmet he had been wearing. She looked at it then at him. "It's easier to stash this one in a compartment and I think your brother would kill me if I got you on this and didn't give you the best protection I had.

"You want _me_ to get on _that_?," she asked gesturing to the bike. Nic looked back at it and then to her.

"Yeah." He nodded his head and looked at her confusedly. Then it was like a light went off as his face. "You've never been on one before have you?" Riley shifted from foot to foot and shook her head embarrassingly. He smiled softly. "I promise I'm a good driver." He held out the helmet to her once more and she reluctantly took it. She put it on hesitantly and he chuckled softly. "Here." He adjusted and fastened the buckle. Giving her a charming smile, he climbed back onto the bike. He looked back at her as he slipped his helmet on.

"It's not going to bite you know." He patted the space behind him. She slowly climbed on and her hands held onto his waist. He grabbed her arms and wrapped them fully around him. "You'll want a better grip than that," he said as he kicked over the engine. She was glad the helmet pretty much covered her face and she was sat behind him as her face flared red. He eased into the traffic and took off down the road. Riley tightened her grip as he sped up a bit more and whenever he made turns. She had finally gotten enough courage to open her eyes and when she did she felt her breath catch. They were flying down the highway next to the river. Riley watched as the cars rushed by; nothing really being between her and their exteriors.

It wasn't long before she felt him switch lanes and they began a gentle decline. When she next looked she saw older buildings passing her. A grocer was sweeping the sidewalk in front of his shop and talking with a man that was smoking a cigarette. They rode two more blocks, when Nic pulled to a stop and cut the engine. Riley eased the grip she had on him as she stared through the visor at the building. It wasn't much, just a little old brick building with burgundy curtains pulled back in the windows. The smell wafting from it made her stomach growl. She heard Nic chuckle as he moved to get off the bike. Releasing her grip entirely, she took his offered hand and climbed off as well. Once her helmet was off she could hear the faint music from inside.

"What is this place?" Nic smiled and shrugged.

"Kind of my home away from home." He held the door open for her and the smells and sounds fully took hold of her. It was a small restaurant, but it had a welcoming feel to it.

"Hey Nic." Riley turned to look at the girl that had spoken. She was petite with rich auburn hair. She looked like she was probably still in high school.

"Hey Anya. How's school going?" She made a disgusted face and Riley fought back her laughter.

"It's still there unfortunately. I think it's worse now that it's my senior year. Mom and dad are hounding on me about college."

"Thought you were going to try out for some dance schools?"

"Oh I am, but they want me to have a backup plan."

"It's not a bad idea Anya."

"Yeah, yeah. Who is this?," she asked quickly turning the conversation towards Riley.

"This is my friend Riley," Nic said while his arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Riley this is my little cousin Anya."

"Nice to meet you Riley, I can finally put a face to the woman that has my cousin so enraptured." Riley blushed a little and noticed Nic did too.

"Nicholai!!" Riley watched as an older woman with the same colored hair as the girl, only with a some gray mixed in, came rushing out from behind the counter. Nic let go of Riley and wrapped her in a hug.

"Hello Aunt Natasha. How was your trip?," he asked once she had let go of him.

"Oh it was good. Papa was happy to see the old country once again. I honestly don't think he wanted to come back."

"Well that's Grandpa for you."

"Nic my boy, how have you been?" A big burly man with a salt and pepper mustache came out from the kitchen wiping his hands on a towel.

"I've been good Uncle Victor."

"How are your mom and sister? Are they enjoying Florida?"

"Yeah, they are. Mom's only complaint is that she is so far away from family, but what can she do? Mark needed the promotion." His uncle nodded his head in agreement.

"And who is this lovely young lady?"

"This is Riley dad," Anya piped up.

"Ah, Nic you never said how beautiful she was. I am Viktor Dubrovskiy. This is my wife Natasha and this is our daughter Anya."

"It's a pleasure to meet y'all." Natasha smiled.

"Well come sit down. I'm sure you're both hungry." They followed her to a table and took their seats. Anya sat down a menu for Riley, took their drink order, and winked at her before she walked away.

"A little warning would've been nice you know."

"What?," he looked at her questioningly. She would've bought it if the corners of his mouth hadn't been twitching. She gave him 'the look' and he had the decency to be embarrassed. "I know I'm sorry. Anya walked in on me one time while I was talking to you and proceeded t informed my family. My aunts love to gossip and they've been hounding me for weeks about you. I figured if one of them met you, it would give me some peace."

"So this whole taking me out to lunch was just to save you from your family?"

"No," he answered quickly. "Only part of it, the biggest part of it was to get to spend some time with you again." Riley tried not to let herself get pulled in, but she couldn't help it.

"I'll let it slide this time, but you still owe me Mister." He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled just as Anya brought over their drinks.

"You ready to order?" Riley realized she hadn't even looked at the menu. Nic gently pulled it from her.

"The usual please Anya." She looked between him and Riley. Nic turned to Riley. "I promise you'll like it." Riley nodded figuring why not. Anya nodded and went to place the order. The rest of the time they talked about anything and everything. Riley told him about the ranch and Nic talked about growing up in Boston. The dish he had ordered for them smelled delicious and tasted just as good. Nic called it Zharkoye. It was a stew of roast meat, potatoes, and vegetables. Natasha and Anya kept making their way over to the table to talk to Anya until Viktor told them to leave her alone. Nic seemed relieved when his uncle stepped in.

It was almost four o'clock when they finally left. This time Riley kept her eyes open as Nic drove her home. Her grip, however, remained tight. They pulled up to the building just as Trevor was walking in. Riley took in his appearance and saw how tired he looked. "Thanks for the meal," she said as she climbed off and handed him his helmet.

"No problem. Maybe we can do it again, just not at my family's restaurant." Riley nodded.

"I'd like that." She looked back to see Trevor waiting for her. "Bye."

"Bye Riley." She made her way over to Trevor. He held the door open for her and she looked back when she heard the engine rev. She turned back and Nic waved at her before taking off. They walked to the elevator in silence. Once the elevators closed Trevor slumped against the wall.

"You okay?," she asked. She knew their dad had been placing a lot of pressure on Trevor in the last month. There was some big deal they were working on getting and when Trevor wasn't at school, he was pulling late nights at the office. Riley only really saw in the mornings as she was heading out the door for school, if that.

"I'm fine Riles. I just need a break." She nodded her head in agreement. "So what did you and Nic do today?" She shrugged.

"He picked me up from school and we went out to eat."

"So you went on a date?"

"I don't know if you would call it that." He looked at her skeptically.

"Where'd you go?"

"To his family's restaurant off of Beacon Street."

"Family? You already met his family?" She sighed.

"Just his aunt, uncle, little cousin. Apparently they found out about me and have been bugging him. He thought if some of them met me they would lay off. What the hell are you smiling about?" Trevor tried to stop the smile, but failed.

"Boy doesn't move slow does he?"

"It doesn't mean anything Trevor."

"Riley, when a guy has you meet his family intentionally it means something alright. Why do you think I never brought any of my dates home?"

"That doesn't count. We lived in a small town and everybody knew us. There was no point of bringing them home."

"Meeting a guy's family means he is seriously into you." Riley rolled her eyes. She didn't want to believe Trevor. If she did, then she would get really nervous every time she was around Nic. Luckily for her when the doors opened Trevor's phone rang.

"Hello. Hey Derek. I don't know man. I'm wiped. I know, I know. Yeah. Alright I'll be there." He snapped his phone shut as they walked into the apartment. "Hey Riles, how do you feel about a party?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She followed Trevor into what looked like a fraternity house. "Trevor, who do you know here?"

"Just Derek," he shouted over the music. "Some of his friends from high school go to Boston U and are a part of this fraternity." Trevor grabbed a beer off of the table. He held it out to Riley.

"You're actually going to let me drink?" She was shocked.

"I'll cut you off if I think you're going overboard. Besides I'm going to be keeping a close eye on you so nobody can take advantage." He smiled as Riley rolled her eyes. She should've known he wouldn't drop the overprotective big brother act. She took a drink of the beer and looked around. In the living room was a stereo and everybody was dancing, in the kitchen they were having playing some drinking games.

"Hey Trev."

"Hey Vicky." Trevor hugged the red head.

"So this is Riley, huh?"

"Yup, this is my baby sister," Trevor said while squeezing Riley tightly to his side. "Riles this is Derek's girlfriend Vicky."

"Nice to meet you Riley," Vicky said extending her hand. Riley shook it.

"You too."

"Speaking of your boy, where is he?"

"We're out in the backyard. This is mostly the pledges. Come on." Vicky led them towards the backyard. There they found Derek with a guitar in his hands. He was strumming away, but stopped as soon as he saw Vicky. Riley saw his face light up and she hoped that one day she would have someone look at her like that. He got up and kissed her. Once they pulled apart, he turned his attention to Riley and Trevor.

"Hey man, glad you could make," he said shaking Trevor's hand.

"You didn't leave me much choice."

"Oh I'm pretty sure you'll have a good time. How you doing Riley?"

"Good."

"Enjoying school?"

"Yeah." Derek nodded and smiled as he looked at something behind them.

"Trevor?" He quickly whipped around and Riley fought he laughter back. She looked to Derek who winked at her and gave a devilish grin. She rolled her eyes.

"Madison?! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with my sorority sisters. This is our brother fraternity. What are you doing here?"

"Derek invited us." At the 'us' part, Madison looked to his side and saw Riley.

"Hi Riley. Are you enjoying your classes so far?"

"They're going alright. I already have an eight page paper due at the end of next month for Lit."

"Let me guess, McConnell?" Riley nodded her head. "He can be a bit of a jerk but he is a good professor. If you need any help let me know. I took three of his classes."

"I'll keep that in mind thanks." Riley looked over to Trevor, who was still staring at Madison. She also noticed the looks Madison was throwing him. "Well I think I want something a little different." She shoved her beer into Trevor's hand and made her way back into the house. She saw a punch bowl and decided to try that. The first sip nearly knocked the breath out of her. She would have to drink this slowly if she wanted to stay somewhat alert for trouble.

"Hey you're in my Bio class aren't you?" Riley turned to find a black haired girl with deep green eyes talking to her. "Jenkins Bio 101, right?," she asked. Riley nodded her head.

"Do you understand ant of what we covered this week cause I got completely lost." Riley shook her head.

"Science isn't exactly my strongest subject. Math is the worst."

"I hear that. I'm Tatum."

"Riley."

"So Riley, who was that cutie you came in with? Your boyfriend?"

"Oh God no. He's my older brother."

"Damn girl. Is he single?" Riley laughed.

"Yeah, but he has his sights on someone. She's actually here tonight."

"Well shit. No offense, but this is one of the last places I would have thought to see you. You don't seem the party type." Riley shrugged.

"None taken. I'm not really, but I figured I should get the full college experience before getting bogged down with everything else."

"Very true. You gonna rush?"

"What?"

"Are you gonna rush for a sorority?"

"Uh no. That's not really my scene. You?"

"Yeah, but it's kind of expected. My mom was a sister in Tri Delta." Riley nodded her head. "Whoa, who are they?" Riley turned to look at who Tatum was talking about. She felt her heart start to flutter when she recognized the mop of blonde hair. Reid and his friends walked into the room and everyone took notice. "I don't remember them being at freshman orientation."

"That's because they go to Harvard."

"Figures. A lot of them come to parties over here because they last longer. It's hard to find good parties on campus there."

"Oh." Riley watched as they looked around. A blonde in a skirt that was almost showing her ass and a shirt that her boobs were almost falling out of walked up to Reid. He smiled at her and said something to which she giggled.

"Typical. A guy like that would go for a girl like her. That boy has player written all over him."

"I don't know. He can be an okay guy when he wants to be."

"You know him?"

"Our dad's do business together."

"And he's got you hook, line, and sinker." Riley ignored her while trying to convince herself that it wasn't an ac he had pulled on her that night at Nicky's, but it would explain why he never called. He was busy with other girls. Riley was just another notch on his bedpost so why waste the time on her. Hence the texting. She watched as he allowed the girl to pull him to the dance floor. Pogue, Kate, Caleb, and Sarah soon made their way out there as well.

"Ooo, the other cutie is heading this way." Tyler began to walk their way. As soon as he realized it was Riley he was heading towards his eyes got big. He glanced out at the dance floor and Riley followed his line of vision. There was Reid making out with the tramp. Tyler shook his head and walked the rest of the way over.

"Hey Riley."

"Hey Tyler." He rubbed his neck, obviously embarrassed for Reid. He knew he would be kicking himself when he found out Riley was here and that she saw him.

"Tatum Johnson," Tatum quickly said sticking out her hand.

"Tyler Simms," he said giving her a killer smile. Riley could tell Tatum wanted to be alone with Tyler.

"I'm gonna head back outside. You two have fun."

"Riley," Tyler called out. She turned back to him. "He doesn't mean anything by it. It's just how he's been for a long time." She shrugged her shoulders.

"It's not like we're together Tyler. I figured once he realized I wasn't going to jump into bed with him, he would move on. Guess I was right." With that she turned around and head out back to be with Trevor. She felt bad that she would be interrupting his time with Madison, but she couldn't stand being in there any longer.

-------------------------------------------

"Your boy is in serious trouble." Tyler nodded his head.

"I know and he's going to be kicking himself later. He really likes her."

"He has a funny way of showing it."

"Like I said it's just Reid. He still has a lot of growing up to do when it comes to the opposite sex."

"Speak of the devil." Reid was making his way over to them. His arm slung around the girl's shoulders while she clung to him tightly.

"Hey Baby Boy, who's your friend?"

"I'm Tatum," she said with a smile.

"She's a friend of Riley's," Tyler said gently. Reid's eyes widened at the information Tyler had given him. His arm quickly fell from the girl's shoulder and she whined.

"Is she here?"

"You bet your ass she is and she saw everything."

"Where is she?" He asked taking step towards Tatum.

"Whoa man, back it up."

"Are you trying to scare me rich boy? Cause it sure as hell ain't gonna work." Reid glared at her.

"He's not trying to do anything." Reid's glare shifted to Tyler.

"Where is she Baby Boy?" Tyler sighed knowing that Reid wouldn't stop until he found her.

"She headed out back." Reid stepped back and head towards the backyard.

"Hey!!," the forgotten girl cried out in protest.

"Sorry sweetie, guess you'll have to find someone else to give you a ride," Tatum said sweetly. Tyler held back his laughter as the girl stomped her foot and headed back to the dance floor.

--------------------------

Riley was sitting on the ground next to Derek and Vicky. Across the yard Trevor was talking to Madison. _At least one of us is enjoying the party,_ she thought sadly. "Everything okay Riley?"

"Everything's fine Vicky. Just not much of a party person." She nodded her head in understanding.

"Neither am I, but this big lug always seems to drag me to one."

"Hey you don't have to come," Derek defended.

"Please, you beg me until I say yes."

"Can I help it if I enjoy your company," he said giving her a smile and pulling her into his lap. She swatted at his chest and leaned down to kiss him. Riley turned her head to the sky to give them their moment. She tried to see the stars, but all the lights were making them dim and hard to see. She missed laying in the grass in the front yard and looking for shooting stars.

"Ri?" She turned her head to the voice that called her name. There stood Reid looking as good as ever, but with a guilty look on his face. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She caught Derek staring at them from the corner of his eye. She knew if they talked in front of him anything said would get back to her brother.

"Yeah sure." She got up and led him to another part of the yard. She stopped and turned to face him. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Look, what you saw back in the house…"

"Don't worry about it Reid." He looked at her confused. "I mean it's not like we're dating or anything. You can screw whoever you want to and I can do the same."

"Riley that's not…."

"I get it okay. You came here to have a fun time, but if that's still your plan I suggest you get back to your girl before someone else snatches her up."

"She's not my girl," he snapped.

"She's your girl for tonight." She started to walk past him when he gently grabbed her arm.

"Ri, please. I'm sorry. I fucked up, okay?"

"Like I said Reid, it doesn't matter. We're not dating so you can be with whoever you want."

"I want you."

"Well I'm sorry, but I'm not a one night stand kind of girl."

"What if I don't want I one night stand?"

"I have a hard time believing that." She tried to move away again and his grip tightened.

"Just give me a chance Riley, please. Let me take you out Saturday. An actual date, just you and me." She stared at him. Could she trust him? She really wanted to, but how could she after what she just saw? There was no doubt about it, Reid was a flirt. So why did she believe him? She cursed herself in her head and knew if this went the way she thought it would she would have no one to blame but herself.

"Fine." Reid smiled and the relief was evident in his eyes.

"Riles, you ready to head out?" She turned to see Trevor making his way over to them. He was eyeing Reid's hold on her, which he quickly let drop. "Garwin." He nodded his head in greeting.

"Galloway."

"Madison is going to catch a ride with us if that's okay?," he said turning back to his sister.

"That's fine."

"Great. Let's go," he said as he threw his arm around her shoulder and led her to the house.

"I'll pick you up at five." Riley looked back to see Reid with his hands in his pockets, looking at her for confirmation. She nodded her head and his smile came back. Why did those stupid butterflies always have to show up when he did that? They climbed into the car. Riley took the back while Madison took the passenger seat. As they pulled out, she noticed Reid and Tyler were leaving the party as well. Tatum was following them and Tyler was entering something on his phone. Obviously Reid wasn't the only one who got a shot at a date.

"What was that about Riles?" She looked up to see Trevor looking at her through the review mirror.

"Nothing."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Why would you think that?"

"I saw him grab you? No answer the question."

"No he didn't. He was trying to stop me from leaving before he could ask me out."

"So you're going on a date with him?," Madison asked. She was trying to play the peacemaker. She had seen how Trevor's eyes had darkened when Reid grabbed Riley.

"Yeah."

"When?," Trevor asked as he worked to calm himself down.

"Saturday at five." Trevor nodded. That gave him enough time to find Reid and have a little chat about how he better not hurt her.

"Just be careful Riles." That was the last thing anybody said for the rest of the ride back to their apartments.


End file.
